Own Your Internet

New Fairfield has been given the opportunity to participate in a project funded by the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCoG) to study the feasibility of a town-owned broadband fiber optic network to provide a new competitive option to our residents and businesses and improve access to the internet. 

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Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG) is a council of mayors working collaboratively to provide exceptional public services for its eighteen member communities in the southwest corner of Connecticut.

 

The starting point for this process is to confirm whether this is something our residents and businesses would be interested in and support.  As we all have experienced, there are no real options at present to current offerings, which many find to be expensive and unreliable. 

 

If the project moves forward, it will seek to maximize value and lower costs through competition.  It would be built on the following principles:

 

• Nobody would be forced to participate.  Participation would be on a voluntary, opt-in basis.

• Taxes would not be increased to fund the project.

• The ongoing operation of the network would be self-sustaining and not dependent on any kind of subsidy from the Town.

 

In undertaking this study, our goals are to:

 

• Lower the cost of internet access by 30% for residents and businesses.

• Significantly increase the speed and reliability of internet access.

• Increase competition and give residents multiple options for Internet Service Providers on demand in real time.

• Build a state-of-the-art network that will improve economic development and foster innovation.

• Evaluating to see if the network can improve services provided in New Fairfield, including public safety, education, emergency communications, and other services that will become possible with advanced network infrastructure.

 

We need your input to determine whether this is a project that residents want and will support.  Please take the New Fairfield (WestCOG) Broadband Survey.  It is 9 questions and should take less than 3 minutes.

 

As the project proceeds, we will make more information available on this website and through other outreach.

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