BARNSTABLE, Mass. – A Cape Cod nonprofit has been awarded $40 million in grants to construct a 350-mile, fiber-optic network backbone to the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, with connections to regional network access points in Providence and Brockton, Mass.
The nonprofit OpenCape Corp. received a $32 million National Telecommunications and Information Administration broadband grant to construct a network that would support community, economic and governmental needs in southeastern Massachusetts.
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OpenCape received an additional $6 million grant from Massachusetts state government and $2 million from RCN Metro Optical Networks, a division of RCN Corp., to build the network.
OpenCape hopes that the new open-access network will better position Cape Cod, the islands and Nantucket to expand their economics beyond their hospitality.
“OpenCape is the product of years of work and collaboration by organizations and individuals across our region,” said OpenCape President Dan Gallagher. “It’s a vital part of the region’s long-term growth and competitiveness strategy, and we are excited to have assembled all of the necessary funding to immediately begin the OpenCape network.”
RCN Metro will design, build and manage the network, and estimates it will take three years to complete.
“We are very happy for the OpenCape Corporation and the residents of Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands,” RCN Metro President Felipe Alvarez said in a statement. “RCN Metro’s unique expertise in designing, building and operating middle mile, high-speed optical networks will ensure communities in this region have reliable access to the highest quality telecommunications services available now and for the next 50 years.”
Additional information is available at opencape.com.
