Rep. Michelle McGaw and Sen. Louis DiPalma have asked Verizon to postpone discontinuing copper landline service in Little Compton until fiber optic broadband is actually available there.
Verizon customers in town recently received letters saying traditional copper service would end sometime after Oct. 23, and pointing them toward fiber, cable or wireless alternatives. Two of those three aren’t reliably available in Little Compton.
“Wireless signals in rural Little Compton are extremely weak and unreliable,” the two legislators wrote to the company this week. “Our constituents there consistently report poor cellular service. We have had similar experiences in Little Compton. This lack of reliable cellular/wireless service makes this option non-viable for Little Compton residents.”
Fiber is coming, but not soon. The town was recently approved for federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funding to extend fiber service, and Verizon has estimated two years for installation. McGaw and DiPalma asked the company to keep copper running until then.
They also offered an alternative: speed up the fiber build or improve wireless coverage. “Both options would be welcomed by residents while also supporting your effort to discontinue the use of the copper network,” they wrote.
