OPENCAPE CONNECTIONS
March 2019
HELLO FROM THE CEO

Hello Friends ~

If you've been wondering why you haven't heard from us yet in 2019 it's because we have been ridiculously busy! There is a lot of activity at OpenCape, and I'm happy to share a bit of what's been going on with you today in this March newsletter. 

Honestly, I was getting bored talking about things we would like to do instead of the really exciting things we are doing now. And those are now coming into focus with a lot of forward progress happening every day.

Most of you already know about our efforts to build connectivity to the National Seashore and up to a dozen Outer Cape beaches in an attempt to proactively serve the Public Safety of our region. We prepared a comprehensive proposal on how to address this via our 100% Fiber network and delivered it to the Cape legislative delegation, as well as Town Administrators and Select Board Members. You can read it here.

We have likewise been diligently working in close cooperation with Cape towns to get funds released from the economic development bill signed by Governor Baker last summer for main street initiatives in Hyannis, Falmouth and Provincetown. We have had good initial meetings with the new Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Mike Kennealy, in which we have made him familiar with OpenCape's objectives. We stressed the role we see ourselves playing in the economic development future of Southeastern MA, the Cape and Islands.

Much of our focus has been continuing to explore the best methodology for offering reliable, redundant, affordable internet service to residents and small businesses. To that end, we have been having conversations with a potential partner to help us explore how we can deliver the best service at the most economical price points. I'm happy to report we’ve made tremendous progress and if things continue to go well, we hope to be announcing residential pilots on the Cape next month.

We continue to onboard new clients including many large and small businesses. I was looking at a list of the largest employers on the Cape a few days ago and was happy to see that we currently service 15 of the top 20. One critical element of our service that I am very happy is expanding is the Regional Wide Area Network (RWAN). OpenCape is expanding the flexibility of the RWAN and actually morphing it beyond a Cape only service. This will allow any municipality in our footprint to utilize the shared bandwidth, Transparent LAN, OpenCape Data Center and additional dedicated circuits to ensure they have the reliability, redundancy and security required.

All of these efforts align with our mission to help our communities compete in areas such as healthcare, banking, public safety, research, business development and entrepreneurship. The future of our region relies on these sectors being robust and interconnected technologically. And right now, we are falling short as a geographical area. OpenCape wants to change that! 

Despite the crazy schedule we've been keeping, myself and many of the staff here carved out time to read an important new book by Susan Crawford Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution—and Why America Might Miss It . One of my biggest takeaways from her work is that the lack of connectivity that we experiencing on the Cape is a much bigger issue than simply which provider you choose, (or are able to choose). The larger question is ....Are we preparing our communities to compete, or even survive, in an ever-changing and uncertain technological future? Be assured that the incumbent provider in our area has no plans to expand fiber on the Cape & Islands, so it will be up to the County and Towns working in collaboration with OpenCape to ensure we find a way to finance and build out these last mile networks.

OpenCape has been working hard to find viable answers to our region's needs ~ and we want you to be part of those solutions with us!

Warmly,

Steve
LOOKING AHEAD
Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard have said More Fiber Please! OpenCape is currently forming a coalition to explore building more fiber out to the Islands. We have reached out to leading individuals and businesses like Massachusetts General Hospital (which owns and operates both Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Martha's Vineyard Hospital) to discuss sharing the cost to provide the redundancy that these hospitals desperately need.

In addition to the hospitals, we hear from a myriad of MV and Nantucket residents and businesses that would love more reliable, affordable connectivity.

We've talked to vendors that have completed similar fiber build outs to other islands in the region, such as Fire Island, NY and Block Island, RI. to gauge costs. We are looking to secure approximately $6.5 million to build out to both MV and Nantucket. So if you feel like writing a really big check before the April 15th tax deadline....we are happy to talk with you. OpenCape is a 501c3 Not For Profit organization
Martha's Vineyard Hospital
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
OpenCape has reaffirmed its support of the Cape Cod Technology’s Council signature public-facing event, the First Friday Breakfast Series. These monthly networking presentations, customarily held at the Hyannis Golf Course, provide an opportunity for those working in technology, and anyone who wants to learn more about tech, to hear from individuals and businesses who are making a difference in shaping the regional economy.

“OpenCape is an important driver for tech and entrepreneurship in the region,” says Bert Jackson, CCTC’s Chief Executive Officer.

This will be the fourth year that OpenCape has been a First Friday Series Sponsor, and we continue to support the Cape Cod Technology Council because we believe that tech offers a chance to expand the economic development of the region. Their First Fridays are a great opportunity to share the latest trends, technologies and innovations that can inspire them.

In addition to welcoming OpenCape’s First Friday Series sponsorship renewal, CCTC has also invited our CEO Steve Johnston to be the keynote speaker at their annual meeting in April. “We look forward to having Steve speak about the economic impacts broadband brings to a region such as ours, and how OpenCape will equip our community with ways to remain competitive in a global business environment,” says Jackson. "“Steve and the OpenCape team have a clarity of vision, the passion and the drive to make that happen.”

Angela Hurwitz, OpenCape's Director of Client Solutions , recently gave a special presentation for the Engineering Program at Cape Cod Community College. Hurwitz first gave the students ideas for the best ways to prepare for and conduct a successful job interview, before engaging in mock interviews for an actual advertised engineering job at Hydroid.

The students received feedback on both their resumes as well as their interview performance. "We also helped them shore up their
Q & A responses for upcoming interviews for the position," says Hurwitz. "The students were grateful for the one-on-one attention as well as the test run on the interview process."

Hurwitz will be doing similar presentations and mock interviews for the college's IT Networking and CyberSecurity programs as well. "This experience is valuable in so many ways," says Hurwitz. "It is a priority for us to give back to our community and help our local STEM students prepare for the workforce but there's another big benefit...I am literally sitting across the table interviewing and preparing my future colleagues and IT leaders! It is a glimpse into the future of tech and the future looks bright!"

OpenCape looks forward to continuing to contribute to the college and its STEM Academy to help students develop real life skills and build toward future success in the IT and technological workplace.

OpenCape is a Gold Level Vendor for the upcoming Cape Cod Young Professionals Shape Your Cape Summit, which is taking place on April 4 at the Seacrest Hotel in Falmouth.

This one-day conference features interactive workshops and panel discussions aiming to provide attendees with actionable knowledge and skills that can be applied within their workplace or personal lives.

Topics range from career development to civic engagement to work/life balance. The event is designed to facilitate community conversation around a variety of issues that impact quality of life and career opportunity for young people living and working on Cape Cod.

Stop by the OpenCape booth to meet the staff and also enter to win one of several very cool giveaways!
OpenCape's Angela Hurwitz at the STEM Event
The Secret to Residential Service
We have received many questions from Town Administrators and Select Board Members regarding how Western Mass towns pushed forward town wide fiber builds. Leverett has shared all the details of what they did.
5G....OMG! 5G will solve everything!
Yeah..not quite! 5G, when it arrives here in our area in four to ten years, will absolutely help connectivity. But it won't solve everything. First off, 5G requires a ton of fiber and then requires a high density of APs (access points.) In our area this may create havoc with our historic districts, so there is lots more to consider and plan for. Learn more about 5G below
OpenCape is well positioned to play an important role in the 5G roll out
OpenCape's
CFO REPORT

We are expanding as fast as our 100% fiber

Fiscal Health:

Over the past two years, OpenCape has increased customers by 55% and our 2019 projection is trending to continue that progress by year’s end. Our expanding client base is testament to the value of providing our customers with state of the art fiber optics now and in the future.

Obviously this kind of positive trajectory leads to revenue growth. This coupled with effective expense management has had a significant impact to our financial health. In fact, in 2018, OpenCape was able to secure a Line of Credit from Cape Cod 5 due to our solid business practices and strategies.

Customer Overview:

OpenCape provides our 100% fiber to hundreds of local businesses in sectors that include hospitality, transportation, research institutions, education, healthcare and municipal/government entities.

We look forward to attracting and benefitting businesses, large and small, in all areas of commerce and public service throughout our region.
OpenCape Corporation 
P.O. Box 1148
Barnstable, MA
02630-2148

www.opencape.org

508-362-2224
MAKE THE CONNECTION: