Negotiations are set to begin next month between Martha's Vineyard towns and Comcast, the Island's only cable service provider.
Negotiations are set to begin next month between Martha's Vineyard towns and Comcast, the Island's only cable service provider.
A prolonged effort to secure cable television and high-speed internet service for Chappaquiddick residents has finally met success. As soon as Comcast receives a final payment, they will prepare to install cable infrastructure on the remote island.
The campaign to bring high-speed internet to Chappaquiddick is short the required number of subscribers, with a little more than two months to go before the mid-December deadline.
It was with some shock that I saw numerous Chappy residents had taken out a half-page ad in the August 15 Gazette entreating Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and President Obama to bring high-speed internet to their island.
A campaign by residents to bring high-speed internet service to Chappaquiddick continues this summer. Comcast will provide cable service if 270 homeowners pay an up-front fee of $2,139 and agree to sign on with the provider for two years. While a majority of Chappy people have said yes to the proposal with checks, a number have been silent or noncommittal, and the July 21 extended deadline for sign-up is fast approaching. Campaign callers working phones say they have heard it all.
Chappaquiddick residents are a step closer to getting cable service, with more than the required number of residents signing preliminary agreements with Comcast.
Under a long-negotiated agreement between the town of Edgartown and Comcast, 270 Chappaquiddick residents had to sign commitment letters indicating their interest in getting cable service by October 1.
