The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Connectivity issues must be addressed
Tropical Storm Isaias, and the resulting extended loss of internet service in particular, exposed a major vulnerability throughout the state. Where our focus in the past has been mostly on ensuring internet access continuity where office buildings are located in our commercial districts, the post-COVID working world has many/most working from home. Further, when COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror, most of us will still be working from home, full or part-time. To that end, connectivity has never been more essential in our residential sectors.
It’s critical that legislators in the state pursue two concurrent paths designed to neutralize this identified weak spot in our state. The first — we need to ensure that the few carriers we have servicing each market are held accountable to a standard of service and support, especially during a major outage. That would include providing daily broad updates to those affected, outage restoration estimates, a call center that answers its phone, and a website that shows current and accurate information.
The second major need — competition. Connecticut residents in multiple markets, including Fairfield County, are left with few if any choices as to which provider is available to deliver internet services. Offering us options will allow us to walk away from those who take us for granted, and force those same firms to up their game in order to earn the loyalty of their customer base.
Connecticut’s future could be a very bright one in the age of remote working. Access to reliable internet services from sources who respect their customers and earn our business daily is a key ingredient to our future success as a state.
Offering us options will allow us to walk away from those who take us for granted.