Comcast has agreed to bend a bit on the terms of its original proposal to bring cable television and Internet service to Chappaquiddick, a development that will help the project succeed, according to community leaders and town officials.
Under a deal that took more than two years to negotiate, Comcast agreed to extend its cable infrastructure to Chappaquiddick if 270 households paid an advance construction deposit of $2,139 each. The original July 21 deadline for the deposits was extended by agreement between the town of Edgartown and Comcast to December 19.
The group of Chappaquiddick residents who led the effort to bring cable service to the remote community expects to fall about 70 customers short of the 270 household requirement.
But according to town administrator Pam Dolby, Comcast has now agreed that if the number of new customers falls short, the company will allow the Chappaquiddick Community Fund to make up the difference. The organization has already begun to raise funds.
“The support from the Chappaquiddick community is overwhelming,” said Lionel Spiro, one of the residents who has worked with the town and Comcast toward the agreement. “I have no doubt that we will be able to raise the money required. It’s going to happen.”
If the community falls 70 customers short, the organization would need to raise more than $149,730 to make up the deficit.