The recent Broadband Resource Webinar, hosted by the Technology Council, was attended by representatives from the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Harwich, and Orleans, as well as the Cape Cod Commission. The presentation, designed to support towns receiving grants to deploy municipal broadband, was reported to be well received and very interactive. Participants expressed interest in doing things regionally, which is in line with the Council’s goal to avoid duplication of effort and sharing best practices. There is a follow-up meeting scheduled for January.
There was a discussion of Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) grant for digital equity planning for towns. Digital Equity is also of concern to the Infrastructure Committee, which would like to see towns build digital equity planning into their municipal broadband projects.
Additionally, there is an Affordable Connectivity Program, offered by FCC which the Committee is looking into: www.fcc.gov/acp
Reports
The Cape Cod Tech Council approved and submitted a letter of support for Cape Light Compact’s Cape and Vineyard Electrification Offering, as discussed in November. The Board also approved a request from Commonwealth Wind to provide a letter of support which came in after the last Infrastructure Committee meeting.
The Chair of our EarthTech Committee is involved with Recharge Cape Cod, which will host an event promoting electric vehicles in June: www.recharge-massachusetts.org/cape-cod
Cape Light Compact received a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and Department of Energy Resources to run an income eligible ebike program. They are issuing vouchers to customers who submit applications and meet the income eligibility requirement of less than 60% of SMI. These customers get a voucher that covers 75% of an ebike, up to 1200 (for a $1600 bike) and a voucher for accessories up to $125. Six bike shops on Cape Cod are participating in the program.