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Boo!
Halloween is here, so this is a perfect chance to let you know that we spend a lot of time thinking about scary stuff here at OpenCape. One of the major frights that we address is the trouble caused by storms. From hurricanes like we saw this year in the Carolinas and the panhandle of Florida to the Nor'easters that batter New England every winter, tempests of all types can do serious harm to a coastal community.
One of the worries that I focus on is what would a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane mean for the communication infrastructure of Cape Cod, the Islands and Southeastern, MA? And how can we prepare for the worst? Most people might not be aware that in addition to building over 500 miles of fiber, OpenCape also created a redundant microwave network that runs from Woods Hole to P’Town. This microwave network is attached to hardened facilities like water towers and large cellular towers that can withstand severe winds. Originally, the concept for this additional network was that if one section of our fiber network was damaged, we could jump up onto the microwave network to circumvent the damaged section and restore service quickly while repairs were made.
Recently, we began thinking that our microwave network could do even more. In a possible scenario where we lose most of our telephone pole infrastructure, we could use the OpenCape microwave network to reach emergency shelters on Cape Cod (which are primarily in High Schools) and important public safety facilities, if we added wireless capabilities that would allow us to send wireless signals from the microwave towers. This would provide a redundancy that would help us communicate in times of great need. We are currently working with Barnstable County's Emergency Preparedness team to vet this further.
Sharks are also scary, as every ocean lover knows all too well. As we are phasing out of beach season, this is the time to plan ahead for next summer. OpenCape has continued to think about what we can do to mitigate the problem of the mix of shark activity and human recreation in the waters around the Cape. Just a week ago, we met with Cape Cod National Seashore’s Superintendent Brian Carlstrom and Deputy Superintendent Kathy Tevyaw, along with our colleagues from Centerline Communications, to brainstorm ideas, discuss capabilities and explore what realistically we can do in the short term to enhance communications at the national seashore beaches.
The final fright I want to share with you is traffic. What does 100% fiber have to do with traffic? Well, it's twofold. You’ve got actual road traffic: even though the insane bridge backups of the summer are gone for now, the shoulder seasons are getting longer and the number of cars coming to Cape Cod keeps increasing. And you have Internet traffic: data backups and slow downloads. OpenCape can help with both scary scenarios. On the one hand, being able to work efficiently and effectively from your home or at one of the several co-working facilities OpenCape connects on the Cape, means less need to regularly commute off Cape and on the other hand, our super-fast speeds keep you moving on the web wherever you are in our footprint.
As you know, providing residential service is one of our more important ongoing goals, and we continue to work with Towns and Community Leaders to plot out the ways that can be achieved. And for our current and upcoming business and municipal customers, fast internet is already here. So not so spooky after all! Happy Halloween!!!
Steve
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Provincetown Commons
Co-working spaces are becoming more ubiquitous here on Cape Cod. We already connect Cape Space in Hyannis and now we are hooking up the new Provincetown Commons development.
Housed in the former Community Center on Bradford street, this initiative will support creative professionals, artists, small enterprise, and scientific and technological projects through a collaborative workspace, shared resources, and educational programs.
With one of their goals to "include access to shared technology, conference rooms, and strong digital infrastructure," connecting to the OpenCape 100% fiber network was an easy decision for the Provincetown Commons team.
"I had heard from Robin Orbison at Cape Space how great OpenCape's network is," says Jill Stauffer, Consulting Director for Provincetown Commons. "So we are looking forward to the same terrific service here at our co-working space."
Stauffer is particularly enthusiastic
about OpenCape's symmetrical up and down speeds. " Provincetown is known for its creative residents, and this will allow artists in the digital space, such as video, the opportunity to work productively and efficiently here."
Already our OpenCape team has been working hard with Provincetown Commons planning the build out.
"Everyone here is so excited about the possibilities, " says Stauffer. "And the OpenCape staff has been really communicative and great to work with."
OpenCape will be thrilled to offer the year round and seasonal users of Provincetown Commons the fastest and most reliable internet, allowing them to work, connect and collaborate on the very tip of our peninsula.
For more information about Provincetown Commons click
here.
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In mid-October, OpenCape CEO Steve Johnston and Director of Client Solutions Angela Hurwitz had the opportunity to address the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates at their regular meeting. Johnston and Hurwitz provided an update on OpenCape’s current strategy of connecting businesses and municipal clients on and near our network.
Assembly members had quite a few questions about how OpenCape is benefiting the general public here on Cape Cod.
In addition to highlighting the businesses and governmental entities that we currently serve, we were also happy to discuss how we plan to work in conjunction with Town governments to bring internet services to Cape Cod residents. We fielded lots of enquiries around the logistics of Fiber To The Home, and we shared ideas on what it would take in terms of funding from towns, or a collaboration of towns, to offer residential services to their citizens.
The 15-member Assembly of Delegates is the legislative branch of County government and is responsible for adopting new ordinances and maintaining checks and balances over the executive branch. Each Cape town has one delegate, with voting power based on the size of their respective town’s population.
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Clean Water
It's water, water everywhere here on Cape Cod and Southeastern MA., so it's of paramount importance to make sure it is safe and clean. To help with that vital public health and safety issue, OpenCape works with municipal Public Works departments to connect their pumps and well systems, providing the connectivity that ensures security and proper surveillance.
We just connected the Cotuit Well System, working with the water department there to manage their pumps, wells and flows all within an integrated internet system. Likewise, we have connected Falmouth and Orleans water facilities and are preparing to connect pumping stations in Provincetown. OpenCape's capabilities are perfectly aligned with the needs of public works divisions in our region, and we take our commitment to the safety and security of our natural resources and water systems very seriously. We are proud partners in this effort with the towns and villages on Cape Cod, the Islands and Southeastern MA.
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Everything you Ever Wanted to Know About 5G But Were Afraid to Ask
You may have heard the term "5G" being bandied about and wondered what it means (and how many updates you will need to download to your smart phone to actually get it.) The honest answer is that while telecom companies are regularly touting 5G on the horizon, the standards, rules and regulations surrounding the technology have not yet been established. AT&T, Verizon, T- Mobile and other communications giants are racing to the nether region of 5G- ness, advertising that your 5G cellular service (with their company, of course) would be so impressive and so fast you could use it in your home or office as your network provider.
What they hesitate to mention is that 5G applications still require a ton of fiber and connectivity and something called 'backhaul'. Realistically, 5G won't be deployed on a broad consumer level here for at least 5-10 years, so we still need solutions in the interim, for our businesses and our towns. And even after robust wireless becomes more available and you can use 5G from your phone, we would always caution our clients about the security and privacy issues related to such an open access system. Streaming a tv show from your phone is one thing, but is that how you really want to send your most sensitive financial information and proprietary materials? We wouldn't and we don't think you should either. That's why OpenCape will always be your choice for security, reliability and customer care.
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OpenCape Corporation
P.O. Box 1148
Barnstable, MA
02630-2148
www.opencape.org
508-362-2224
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