Broadband / Internet

 Broadband Committee Meetings are held on the second Monday of every month, unless notified of a change.

Join Us for a Celebration of Somerville's Municipal Broadband Network! 

We're more than halfway there! Our town-owned fiber broadband network is rolling out fast, and the volunteer broadband board is celebrating the milestone with a public event on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at the Somerville Elementary School gym from 10 a.m. - noon. We'll bring some light refreshments and hold a brief ribbon cutting ceremony around 10:30 a.m.

Please join us for this community gathering to mark our progress, learn more about the benefits of high-speed, reliable internet, see a video of the network's Central Office located at the school, meet some of the folks who helped make this a reality, and chat with neighbors who have already been connected to the new system. 

Representatives of Axiom, our internet service provider, will be there in person if you have any questions, or if you or someone you know hasn't yet signed up for an account but would like to do so then. Keep in mind that any Somerville household that signs up by the final deadline of February 28th will qualify for free standard aerial installation (that's a $299 value).

More than half of our residents who signed up in advance will have their fiber internet connection running by the 22nd, and that's reason enough to celebrate! If you've signed up too but are still waiting to be hooked up, please don't fear, you have not been forgotten. The fiber network construction by Hawkeye is nearly finished, and Axiom will continue to daily schedule and complete the last step of installing and testing a modem inside your home over the next several weeks, until everyone in town who has already signed up for their broadband account is up and running with fast internet. 

We, the Somerville Municipal Broadband Board, hope to see you there!

Date: Saturday, February 22nd

Time: 10 a.m. until noon, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m.

Location: Somerville Elementary School, 665 Patricktown Rd

Understanding Municipal Broadband Operating Costs

Feb 2, 2025

The Somerville Municipal Broadband fiber system will be completed and fully operational by spring2025. Its construction funding of $1.6M is fully paid for by combined state and federal grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA). There is no debt to repay from the broadband construction. 

Somerville’s inclusion with other rural Maine towns as a beneficiary of the State-secured construction funding is a direct result of tireless efforts to apply for grant funding by town volunteers on behalf of the many residents who expressed a desire for high-speed internet access.

No town property taxes have been used in the construction of what will be a town-owned fiber internet network. Somerville’s direct contribution to the construction was voting to dedicate the former Town Office room at the school to be the Municipal Broadband Central Office. Indirectly volunteers contributed many hours to survey poles, conduct speed tests on existing service, coordinate with Hawkeye, Axiom, and MCA, negotiate pole attachment agreements with CCI and CMP, and protect the Town’s interests before the PUC.

Likewise, ongoing costs to maintain and operate the broadband network will be funded by the subscribers’ monthly or annual internet fees. The Town’s costs as the owner are covered by the revenues from the Town’s portion of subscriber fees. That Town revenue will be provided quarterly under the franchise agreement with Axiom, our contracted operator of the internet service. No property taxes are going to be used to cover the expected expenses related to owning the broadband system. 

At the current enrollment of 192 Somerville households as of January 28, 2025, the subscription rates paid by the town’s broadband ratepayers total about $147,200 annually. That amount may increase as more people find out how well the service works and choose to sign up for the town-owned broadband service; however, the current enrollment provides a reasonable starting point for understanding the broadband system’s finances going forward. 

Under the franchise operator contract with Axiom, the Town receives 25% of the total subscription fees, and Axiom uses the rest to cover its costs of operating the equipment and providing broadband aggregate bandwidth, customer service, and billing. 

Catastrophic loss is an Axiom responsibility to repair (with Town approval) but it will be a Town responsibility, as the owner of the system, to cover the cost of repairing or replacing portions of the fiber system, if it were damaged in the future.

Construction Costs:

90% NTIA (Federal)

10% MCA (State)

From the Town’s share of subscriber-related revenues, we are required to pay for both general commercial liability insurance and pole attachment leases, as a prerequisite for having our fiber hung on the utility poles throughout town. However, the cost of repairs to the fiber trunk line if it were damaged is not covered by that type of insurance.

Given the expectation about the share of revenue the town will receive, after paying for annual general liability insurance and leases as required under pole attachment rules, there will be approximately a $22,000 net balance each year, at the current level of enrollment.

The Broadband Board is currently reviewing whether the Town would benefit from purchasing an annual catastrophic loss insurance policy or to self-insure instead, using funds from the expected net balance. Its recommendation to the Select Board will be based on weighing the insurance premium cost and its high deductible versus an expectation about the probability and potential expense of future repairs. Regardless of whether an annual catastrophic loss insurance policy is purchased, any balance of revenues would be kept in a Broadband reserve account by the Town Treasurer to build a balance to cover the system’s repair costs, if any, and for future Municipal Broadband improvements.

If the number of subscribers increases, then the Town’s share of revenues would be higher. And since the costs to the town are not proportional to subscribers, the broadband reserve account balance will grow more quickly to meet future needs.

Broadband revenues and the reserve account are intended only to be used for broadband-related costs, including improvements, insurance, and repairs. Ratepayers (i.e., residents who have chosen to subscribe to the town’s fiber internet system) are funding the ongoing operation of the broadband service and those ratepayers will receive the future benefits. Balances accrued as subscription revenue comes into the town would be rolled over and kept by the Town Treasurer in that account every fiscal year, and is not intended for use for non-broadband costs.

Note that the Somerville Municipal Broadband Board (SMBB) can protect Town interests under the terms of the franchise contract. SMBB has the ability to negotiate changes to the municipal broadband rates with the operator if it becomes necessary to adjust revenues to reflect costs or to offer new pricing/speed options for broadband subscribers.

We are happy to answer any questions or make any clarifications, as desired.

Sincerely,

- Sharon Reishus, Chair of the volunteer Somerville Municipal Broadband Board

- Chris Johnson, volunteer Town’s Agent for the municipal broadband construction