OpenCape Insight

OpenCape Responds To New England Cable & Telecommunications Association False Claims

OpenCape responded to Tim Wilkerson, President and CEO at the New England Cable and Telecommunication Association who recently authored an Op-Ed letter widely published that not only falsely accused OpenCape of financial failure, but also suggested that FalmouthNet is the wrong approach for the residents of Falmouth. The response entailed two, full-page color ads in the Falmouth Enterprise on July 23, 2021.

OpenCape communicated their support for FalmouthNet and their effort to offer residential service to some 22,032 households in Falmouth.

”The timing of Mr. Wilkerson’s letter couldn’t be more opportunistic. His misleading conclusions and outright falsehoods are part of a dedicated campaign on behalf of the huge Cable and Internet providers to poison the broadband conversation in advance of expected Federal Infrastructure investments. His goal is to deceive the public about competition in internet services, keep customers tied to the monopolies that employ him, and funnel government funding toward those incumbent providers.” said OpenCape CEO Steven Johnston.

OpenCape believes that the people in Falmouth, and throughout Cape Cod, the Islands and Southeastern MA understand what matters and are ready to make a change. Being locally based matters. Having the best technology, the highest reliability, and the highest customer satisfaction matters.

We are growing the economy. We are here for the long run. We are here for the people of Falmouth as they embark on a fiber future.

His goal is to deceive the public about competition in Internet services, keep customers enslaved to the monopolies.

OpenCape’s Response

The residents and business owners of Falmouth realize that Cape Cod and its economy needs reliable, fast, affordable internet.

OpenCape 100% supports the FalmouthNet initiative

OpenCape fully champions FalmouthNet, which is positioned to join hundreds of successful municipal and privately-owned broadband networks nationwide. These innovative collaborations are technically and financially sound and are meeting the needs of their communities in ways that the incumbent providers have failed to do over decades of service.

OpenCape has proven the local model works and already connects Main Street Falmouth’s Internet and dozens of Enterprise businesses across Falmouth and Woods Hole.

As the owners and operator of the fastest, most reliable and only 100% fiber-optic network on Cape Cod. OpenCape is proud to have partnered with the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce and the Falmouth EDIC in response to Main Street businesses that were unable to process credit cards due to poor connectivity. OpenCape stepped in to bring Gig-speed, reliable, affordable service to retail stores, restaurants, and offices on and around Main Street, at below-market rates and with superior customer service.

OpenCape is the best Broadband Solution for our region

Since our inception in 2009, OpenCape has worked steadily and quietly to counter the declining services and spiraling costs associated with the incumbent providers. It is why not-for-profit, OpenCape was first created, and how the network has grown from 50,000 fiber miles to over 100,000 miles in the past 5 years.

The investment in OpenCape has paid off, we have made huge strides and our future is very bright. Some of our successes include:

• Connecting hundreds of Enterprise and small businesses in healthcare, transportation, hospitality, real estate, professional services, retail, and non-profits.
• Providing redundant and reliable service to municipalities, including Town offices, libraries, schools, police and fire departments and public works facilities.
• Connecting over 70 cell towers, resulting in a drastic improvement in the regions cellular capacity.
• Piloting residential service in three communities on the Cape offering Gig-speed, reliable fiber connections for only $55 per month.
• Creating competition and choice for services and driving prices down dramatically.

OpenCape’s network is state-the-art, we have the highest customer satisfaction rating of any Internet Provider in our region, and our financial position has never been stronger. We regularly make significant capital investments to upgrade and expand our network and are hiring skilled team members to meet the increasing demand for our services. We are committed to helping advance the quality of life in the more than fifty towns/cities in our service footprint. You can see this commitment to mission in the projects we took on this past year alone:

• Donated $568,000 of in-kind services to businesses struggling to stay afloat during the COVID crisis.
• Awarded 15 Cape Cod students $1,000 scholarships for college.
• Provided numerous public locations with free, WiFi hotspots delivering over 500Mbps per location to help members of the community who were struggling to connect for work or education at their homes, due to lack of robust, affordable broadband.
• Connected churches, arts and cultural organizations at a significant discount, to support their streaming and virtual programming capacity.
• OpenCape is directly responsible for over 40 full-time, high-paying jobs here on Cape Cod and Southeastern MA that generate millions of dollars of local economic activity annually.

We know residents won’t find the same level of commitment, accountability and local service excellence from the large, incumbent providers who have held the monopoly on Internet in our region for decades. What have they done to advance the quality of life on Cape Cod, the Islands and Southeastern MA? Do they even have mission statements or visions for a more equitable broadband future?

What they do have is a hired lobbyist who has publicly suggested that OpenCape has neither the fiscal strength nor technical infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet services throughout our region. Tim Wilkerson, President and CEO at the New England Cable and Telecommunication Association recently authored an Op-Ed letter widely published that not only falsely accused OpenCape of financial failure, but also suggested that FalmouthNet is the wrong approach for the residents of Falmouth.

The timing of Mr. Wilkerson’s letter couldn’t be more opportunistic. His misleading conclusions and outright falsehoods are part of a dedicated campaign on behalf of the huge Cable and Internet providers to poison the broadband conversation in advance of expected Federal Infrastructure investments. His goal is to deceive the public about competition in Internet services, keep customers enslaved to the monopolies that employ him, and funnel government funding toward those incumbent providers.

We believe that the people in Falmouth, and throughout Cape Cod, the Islands and Southeastern MA understand what matters and are ready to make a change. Being locally based matters. Having the best technology, the highest reliability, and the highest customer satisfaction matters.

We are growing the economy. We are here for the long run. We are here for the people of Falmouth as they embark on a fiber future.