Remote Rhode Island community turns up municipal fiber network

Block Island, located just 12 miles south of mainland Rhode Island, has launched a municipal broadband network in partnership with Sertex Broadband Solutions. Dubbed BroadbandBI, the gigabit fiber network will power the town of New Shoreham, which has a population of roughly 1,000 people. New Shoreham initially struck a partnership with Sertex in 2017 to build a municipal broadband network serving community anchor institutions, such as schools, libraries, and hospitals. That network was completed in 2019. The BroadbandBI project kicked off in July 2020, when New Shoreham residents voted to authorize $8 million in tax-supported bonds to finance a network expansion. Construction was completed in February 2023. To make up for the network’s cost, New Shoreham plans to collect an annual tax from property owners beginning in 2025, as well as incorporate additional monthly fees into broadband subscriptions. Those fees would cover things like installation, equipment and maintenance costs.