This survey was conducted by LongmeadowBiz, LLC to determine the interest of town residents in supporting a fully town owned
optical fiber Internet network as a competitor to Comcast/ XFinity. There were 100 responses to this survey.
Background Info
Warrant article #9 at the upcoming November 12, 2024 Longmeadow Special Town Meeting warrant asks voters to transfer $491,444 of
available "free cash" to commence design/ engineering work and required
applications for addition of fiber cable to town telephone poles.
ARTICLE 9 To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds in the Treasury, the sum of $491,444.16, or a greater or lesser sum, for the purpose of fiber network design, project management services, pole attachment applications, and to authorize the MLP board to take all steps necessary to carry out this task, or take any other action relative thereto.
Here are some of the highlights to the LongmeadowBiz survey questions:
- 82% of users rate Comcast's Internet service as Fair --> Excellent while 17% rate it as unacceptable.
- The high cost of Comcast service (including TV programming) was ranked as the highest service complaint (71%).
- Town residents use their Comcast Internet connection for a variety of reasons with the highest usage being for email, social media, TV programing and web browsing (87+%). 72% also use it for working from home.
- 31% of respondents indicated that they need higher speeds while 56% indicated that their Internet service and speed was sufficient.
- Greatest concerns about the proposed project included the cost, potential increase in taxes, long term maintenance and management and the transition process from the existing supplier.
- There was financial support for the project by town residents including support for a small increase in taxes if the project delivered on its promises.
