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Thanks for electing David S. Isenberg to a two-year term as a member of the Falmouth Broadband MLP at Falmouth’s town election of May 21, 2024.
This post is from March, 2024, when I decided to run to become a member of the Falmouth Broadband MLP. Since then, Boundless withdrew its offer and we’re back to Square One.
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A small company called Boundless is offering - right now - to build a town-wide fiber optic Internet access network. It would be the state-of-the-art network that I, and several other Falmouth citizens, have envisioned since 2019.
The new network would make Falmouth one of the most connected places on Earth! It would mean:
Boundless proposes to build this network entirely with its own money - $46 million dollars! It says it will build the network to serve all 25,795 of Falmouth’s potential customers. It says it can build the whole thing in 18 months. It says it will charge $55 a month for a 1000/1000 connection. It proposes to start in July, 2024.
If Boundless does what it promises, Falmouth will be one of the most connected places on Earth by December 2025!
But that’s a big IF!
The Falmouth Select Board has directed the Falmouth Broadband MLP to sit down with Boundless to get answers to these questions.
I whole-heartedly endorse having these discussions. My goal would be for them to lead to a memorandum of understanding, contract or other legally enforceable agreement that facilitates the Boundless offer while protecting the interests of the Town of Falmouth.
[Note: The following two paragraphs were modified on 4/4/24 and 4/25/24 to clarifications from the two MLP candidates referenced below.]
Two of the other candidates for MLP believe that discussions with Boundless are premature. They believe that Falmouth should first consider a network that is fully or partially town-owned. They emphasize strong town oversight and long term commitments with the goal of ensuring universal, affordable, high-quality Internet service. These are worthy goals, to be sure, but fully-private network providers like Google Fiber and Ting Internet also provide universal, affordable, high-quality service for the communities they serve. Conversely, in a few rare cases, municipally-owned networks have fallen short.
Two proposals before the MLP do, in fact, involve town ownership. Practically speaking, these two proposals would require many tens of millions in town financing, via revenue bonds or general obligation bonds, plus the delay until financing is in place, and other risks. The up-side would be an eventual revenue stream (once financing is in place, and about 5 to 7 years after construction begins) for our town … but - honest non-rhetorical question - are the certain delays and likely pitfalls worth the risk?
One key fact: the vast majority of municipally-owned broadband networks in Massachusetts - and nation-wide - are run by towns that also have public electric companies.
A second key fact is that bond financing will increase the price of our network to $70 million dollars or more. If Falmouth floats a general obligation bond, it would have to borrow all the interest up front. If it seeks a revenue bond with no network revenues, that would mean borrowing at a very high interest rate and purchasing expensive bond insurance.
A third key fact: the MLP’s two town-ownership proposals would introduce risks that the Boundless proposal doesn’t have. These include the selection of a construction partner, the creation of a new town department, and the selection and subsequent performance of one or more retail Internet service providers who would connect the network to Falmouth’s homes and businesses.
I’m not proposing that Falmouth swallow the Boundless proposal hook-line-and-sinker. I support the Select Board’s decision to let the discussions between Boundless and the Falmouth Broadband MLP begin. If the voters elect me, it would be my honor and responsibility to participate in those discussions.
From: David Isenberg isen4mlp@isen.com
Subject: Better Broadband for Falmouth #4
Date: April 25, 2024 at 1:28 PM
Falmouth citizens,
I was surprised to learn from last Friday’s Falmouth Enterprise that Bob Egan had dropped out of the race for a two- seat on the Falmouth Broadband MLP. Karen Olcott has also abandoned her candidacy for a three-year MLP seat. T day to drop out of the race was April 18.
That means that Courtney Bird and I are now shoo-ins for the two previously-contested MLP seats. To be sure, Cour and I have been pushing for, and working for, a Falmouth fiber network longer and harder than anybody else in tow
But I’ve got mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m sleeping better knowing that I’ll be in an official position to help m Falmouth one of the most connected places on Earth. On the other, I was looking forward to using the contest to bri broadband issues, and larger issues of equity, ownership, infrastructure economics and public benefit to the attentio Falmouth’s citizens.
To this last concern, I’ve decided to keep doing this series of newsletters. There may be no MLP contest, but it doesn mean the journey towards a Falmouth fiber optic Internet access network is over. Also, I firmly believe that the mor Falmouth’s citizens know about the network(s) being built for them, the better.
If you’re interested, read on. If not, please reply to this email with “NO THANKS” or hit “unsubscribe” below.
To review, the two leading proposals before the Falmouth Broadband MLP are by Boundless and Bonfire. Boundless proposes to build the network entirely with its own money and own the finished product. Bonfire proposes a more complex scheme that would require Falmouth to float a bond for about half of the construction costs, about $35 mill but the Falmouth Broadband MLP would eventually own the physical network, and the longer-term revenues from network user fees could be substantial.
About three weeks ago I had an informal meeting with a couple of FalmouthNet board members and a member of th Falmouth Broadband MLP, and we agreed that it would be desirable to get a side-by-side study of these two proposa a neutral expert with a proven track record of helping municipal broadband projects. The FalmouthNet board has th money to do this, but the full FalmouthNet board has not decided on the side-by-side study. There’s a meeting of the and FalmouthNet’s board on May 2.
But since then, I’ve spent an hour on Zoom with the Bonfire team. A few days later, I heard the Bonfire presentation Cape Cod Technology Council’s Infrastructure Committee. Neither meeting allayed my concerns about several aspec its proposal, especially the bond’s prospects in town meeting. The Boundless proposal is simpler and more immedia I still think the side-by-side study would be a useful, constructive step.
I was going to write about the differences between a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network and Comcast’s hybrid-fiber- (HFC) network - and Comcast’s ambitious recent upgrades in Falmouth - but this email is already a bit too long. So, next time …
David Isenberg
Falmouth citizen
Candidate for Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant My campaign Web site - isen4mlp.com
Let me know: isen4mlp@isen.com
Call me: 508-548-5924
I’ve begun a series of emails to explain and support my candidacy for Municipal Light Board. On April 18, I learned I was running unopposed, but the journey towards a Falmouth fiber optic Internet access network isn’t done, so I am continuing these letters.
Here’s links to each of these.
From: David Isenberg isen4mlp@isen.com
Subject: Better Broadband for Falmouth #3
Date: April 14, 2024 at 11:38 AM
Before we dive into what’s up with Falmouth’s fiber optic project, I want to make sure this email is welcome in your in-box. If Falmouth’s Internet isn’t your thing, please reply “NO THANKS” to this email. Or hit “unsubscribe” at the bottom of this page. I hate spam too. And I don’t want to impose. So don’t be shy. Or polite. I’ll understand. – David I
Falmouth citizens,
Today the work that FalmouthNet’s founders began in 2019 has brought two companies, Boundless and Bonfire, to make near-term proposals for a town-wide fiber optic Internet access network, to make super-fast, ultra-reliable Internet connections available to every home and business in Falmouth. I’m running for the Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant (MLP) to make it happen.
There are two news-worthy items on the project this week.
First, the FalmouthNet, Inc. board and the elected Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant board have agreed to meet in the near future with a goal of providing more unified guidance to town leaders and Falmouth citizens about our town’s connected future. Also, FalmouthNet has decided to delay the side-by-side study of the Boundless and Bonfire proposals. I described that study, which would have been a concrete and timely step, in my last email. I don’t know what led to the delay.
Second, the race for Falmouth Broadband MLP changed this week. Marilois Snowman has withdrawn her MLP candidacy. Of the three candidates left for the two seats, Courtney Bird is running for re-election. He founded FalmouthNet. He has followed his vision with determination since 2019. He’s worthy of your vote!
Recently Courtney wrote this to a neighbor: “David Isenberg was one of the founders of FalmouthNet. He was the first person I reached out to when I was trying to get this initiative off the ground.”
Courtney reached out to me because he had heard of my career with the Internet. Indeed, I’ve watched fiber optics deliver faster Internet access speeds, better reliability, lower costs and easier upgrades. I’ve also been a front row witness to the changes caused by the Internet itself - including improvements, but also upheavals and revolutions - in almost every sector of life.
Some readers might want to stop here, because my story, below, is long, nerdy and personal. Some have criticized the MLP for not having sufficient subject matter expertise. If I’m elected to the MLP, those doubts should be reduced. I present a few details of my career to support this claim. For some it may be TMI. But if you do wish to indulge me, read on …
In the early 1990s, when I was at AT&T Bell Labs, I realized that telecom infrastructure was becoming radically simpler. Newer tech was do-it-yourself, plug-and-play. Previous tech required weeks of technical school and years of experience. Then came the Internet, which changed how networks create value for users. Previously only the telephone company could add ways that the network could be used. But with the Internet, suddenly anyone could write a program to use the network in new ways.
Upheaval was coming. I joined a small campaign of Bell Labs folks to save AT&T before most Bell-heads understood the need for change. AT&T’s senior management was especially dense. When the first voice-over-Internet telephony came out, I wrote a memo saying, “Now clearly the Internet is about AT&T’s business!"
Then, in 1997, I wrote another memo that effectively explained how the Internet changed the way networks create value. It was signed off for external release and "went viral” on the Internet. It was widely reported in the business press, and I became an embarrassment to the executive suite. It was time to go. After I quit (or maybe I was fired, depending on who you ask), the Wall Street Journal told the “David & Goliath" story.
Six years later, the mighty AT&T crashed and burned. Its smoldering remains were acquired by "baby bell” SBC for pennies on the dollar. Four years after that, in 2010, John Petrillo, the former AT&T Senior VP of Strategy, who reported directly to the Chairman when I was there, sought me out at a Federal Communications Commission meeting. He wanted to apologize to my face. “We should have listened to you,” he said.
Post-AT&T, I organized high-level Internet technology policy conferences. The notoriety of my departure from AT&T made me famous in Internet circles. My conferences featured FCC chairmen, Internet innovators, policy rebels, democracy activists, and Wall Street investors who were trying to understand.
One of the conferences I helped produce was called FiberFete. It celebrated the completion of Lafayette, Louisiana’s network, the first in the USA to bring fiber optic Internet connections to every home and business. Lafayette’s network is still a great beacon for Falmouth, an example of a city with a superior network in the service of its citizens.
As a result of these conferences, I formed a strong friendship with Vint Cerf, who co-wrote the code that defined the Internet’s core protocol. He’s in the Internet Hall of Fame, and he’s won the National Medal of Technology, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Turing Award, and many other honors. He’s made two major donations to FalmouthNet from his own pocket. He and I co-wrote an op-ed in The Hill marveling that the core of the Internet never failed despite radical changes in use caused by the pandemic.
More recently I’ve been helping Falmouth’s service economy workers get free Internet from Comcast thanks to the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). I proselytized ACP to Falmouth Human Services, the Senior Center, the Service Center, the several Falmouth and Cape-wide housing organizations, the Falmouth Public Schools, the Falmouth Clergy, and everywhere else that reached Falmouth’s service economy workers. Ars Technica wrote an in-depth story of the frustrations encountered by the people I assisted.
In addition to the eight Falmouth households I helped directly, there were two larger successes. First, Falmouth Human Services and the Senior Center ran a workshop to help senior citizens sign up. Second, Peter Clark (former Falmouth Schools Superintendent) and I worked with current school superintendent Dr. Lori Duerr, to build a partnership with Falmouth Public Schools to get student households on the ACP. Unfortunately, at this writing, ACP has run out of money, and a radical faction in the US Congress - the same gang that’s holding up border reform, Ukraine assistance and women’s health care - is keeping Congress from continuing ACP, despite ACP’s strong bipartisan support.
There’s lots more to talk about. Like what’s in our feasibility study, and why it matters. Same for the high-level design that’s a blueprint for our network. I’d like to explain why fiber-to-the-home is way better than Comcast’s partial-fiber network. We could also discuss how people are getting their television over the Internet these days, and what Comcast is doing about all the TV customers they’re losing. I’ve written about some of these topics in my Falmouth Enterprise columns. I’ll expand on them, and cover other issues that come up too, in future emails.
Let’s make Falmouth one of the most connected places on Earth!
David Isenberg
Falmouth citizen
Candidate for Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant
My campaign Web site - isen4mlp.com
Let me know: isen4mlp@isen.com
Call me: 508-548-5924
From: David Isenberg isen4mlp@isen.com
Subject: Better Broadband for Falmouth #2
Date: April 8, 2024 at 2:47 PM
Falmouth broadband voter,
When phrases like “Frustrations climb,” and “Experts wrangle,” dominate the Falmouth Enterprise stories about Falmouth’s network project … announcement: “*Earth to Falmouth, we have a problem.*”
Fortunately, a solution is emerging. Over the weekend, four Falmouth citizens - from FalmouthNet and the Falmouth Broadband MLP, and me - sat down to talk it out. The four of us represented opinions from “Let’s talk to Boundless” to “Let’s look at the options before we leap.” Fortunately, we agreed on a plan to clear the air and move ahead!
We agreed that the next step towards a town-wide fiber optic Internet access network should be side-by-side comparison of the top two proposals before the MLP, by Boundless and Bonfire. The Boundless proposal for a privately owned an network is simple and well-known. The Bonfire proposal would, if it goes according to plan, result in a network own the Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant (MLP), that could have a revenue stream growing to $2 million about year 30.
I was grateful to sit down and talk. We all have opinions, assumptions and blind spots. My own blind spot is that I’ve been seduced by the Boundless proposal’s simplicity and immediacy, so much that I’ve failed to give the more complex, but more public-spirited Bonfire proposal the careful look it deserves. As we discussed the side-by-side study, the knot i stomach relaxed.
FalmouthNet, Inc., the original proponent of Falmouth’s network project, has the money to get the side-by-side job done. It’s got state money, thanks to Dylan Fernandes, that, “shall be expended for FalmouthNet, Inc. for professional services and research expenses in support of efforts to build a town-wide, community-based fiber-optic network.” Falmouth has the ability to approve the side-by-side study immediately. It could engage an expert consultant with a proven track record in community and municipal networking, and we know several. I’m guessing it could be done in a few weeks.
I’ve been painted as supporting the Boundless proposal hook-line-and-sinker. I do like Boundless a lot because I saw first-hand its parent company, Tilson, do a magnificent job on the high-level design that’s the blueprint for Falmouth’s network. Also, Boundless has made good presentations to the MLP and the Cape Cod Technology Council. Nevertheless, with all the frustration and wrangling in the air, I’d love to see Boundless make a full-throated public declaration of its long-term commitment to Falmouth, and put the details of its proposal in a formal document.
Whichever proposal wins, a unified town leadership would make for a healthier network. It’s well-known that rapid customer acquisition is key to network success. A network that turns cash-positive in year 5 is healthier by millions than a network that turns cash-positive in year 6.
If town leaders are enthusiastic about their network choice, customers will be more willing to sign up. The network become cash-positive sooner. Whether it is a private network or a public-private partnership, if we feel a sense of identification, it’ll be a stronger network, with more abilities to serve our town.
Let the side-by-side study begin!
David Isenberg
Candidate for Municipal Light Board
From: David Isenberg isen4mlp@isen.com
Subject: Better Broadband for Falmouth #1
Date: April 3, 2024 at 1:51 PM
To all who care about Falmouth’s Internet infrastructure and services:
My name is David Isenberg. I’ve been working toward better broadband for Falmouth, Massachusetts - and competition to Comcast - for five years. Now I’m running for election to the Falmouth Broadband Municipal Light Plant (MLP), in the May 21 election. That’s my best next step to bring better Internet service to Falmouth.
But first, we all get too many emails. My intent is to reach people who care about the Internet in Falmouth. If that’s you, please say NO THANKS or hit “unsubscribe” below. If this email isn’t welcome for ANY other reason, please rep with NO THANKS, or hit unsubscribe. Don’t be shy. I’ll understand, and you won’t get any more of my stuff.
I plan to send emails every few days, until the election, and maybe after that, about locally-based networks. I’ll talk a how the local networks I’ve seen work, how they’re financed, how they’re built, and how they serve their towns. I want to tell you about Falmouth’s current Internet services and our town’s journey towards a better network. I’ll try to explain what’s an MLP, and how fiber optics work. I’ll talk about digital equity. If I can figure out how to tell you about infrastructure economics without totally nerding out, I’ll give that a try too. I’ll tell my own story about a Falmouth Public School kid who got fifteen minutes of fame on the Internet, and came home to tell about it.
And, as we get closer to the May 21 election, I’ll ask for your vote.
If you want to learn more sooner, please visit my MLP campaign Web site https://isen4mlp.com - otherwise, stay tuned for future emails.
That’s it for now. Thanks!
David Isenberg
Candidate for Falmouth Broadband MLP
isen@isen.com 508-548-5924 home 203-661-4798 cell
I’ve been writing op-eds for the Falmouth Enterprise about the Internet in Falmouth since August, 2021. Here they are, most recent first.
Note: I’m not sure how many articles the Enterprise lets you see if you’re not a subscriber. If you hit the “pay-wall,” and there’s an article you want to see, send a note to isen4mlp@isen.com and I’ll send you the text.
Will Falmouth’s Infrastructure History Rhyme This Time?, September 6, 2024
Time To Review Falmouth’s Network Project, June 21, 2024
Another Step Toward A Town-Wide Fiber Network, March 29, 2024
Progress Toward A Falmouth Network, March 8, 2024
Local Networks, Local Journalism And Dark Money, December 8, 2023
How Residents Can Save Money On Cable TV, July 14, 2023
Why Falmouth’s Network Needs A Municipal Light Board, April 14, 2023
Falmouth’s Fiber Optic Network One Step Closer To Reality, November 18, 2022
Tapping Internet Discounts For Lower-Income Households, October 14, 2022
Internet For Falmouth’s Low-Income Households, May 20, 2022
Falmouth Businesses See 32 Percent Lower Bills For OpenCape Internet, February 25, 2022
If Falmouth Were A Country, Its Internet Performance Would Be Third World, January 28, 2022
Massachusetts Agency Should Step Up to Local Broadband Development, December 24, 2021
Waiting For FalmouthNet? Here’s An Idea, October 8, 2021
An Important Fact About Fiscal Integrity Of Concord’s MLP, September 24, 2021
Service Economy Workers Need Broadband, Too, August 13, 2021
Massachusetts law, Chapter 164, outlines what a Municipal Light Plant is, how to set one up, and how it works. The basic idea is to set up a body connected to the town, but responsive to its rate payers rather than the town’s citizens, to provide municipal services - gas, electricity, cable TV, Internet connections.
In theory, the MLP could offer municipal gas and electric services, as well as cable TV and telephone service. But practically, Falmouth’s light plant was formed to do one thing—to build the town-wide fiber optic network envisioned by its advocates.
Following Chapter 164, Falmouth Town meeting established Falmouth’s MLP in two consecutive town meetings (November 2021 and May 2022) by votes of 93 and 88 percent. Subsequently, Falmouth’s voters elected a five-member MLP in May, 2023.
Chapter 164 gives the MLP broad authority to make agreements and alliances to ensure network success. But it is not clear from the law whether an MLP has a role to play in a privately-owned network, like the one Boundless is now proposing. Nor does the law prohibit an MLP role in a private deal. For this reason, the Acting Chairman of the MLP, Ed Swartz, appeared before the Select Board on March 25, 2024, to ask how to proceed. The Select Board gave the MLP the go-ahead to continue discusssions with Boundless, and to come back to the Select Board with more information.
At the upcoming town election, on May 21, 2024, there are three vacant seats on the MLP. One seat was due to Chairman Sam Patterson’s retirement from politics. Another seat was a one-year seat, and its occupant, Scott Koerner, decided not to run. A third seat belongs to Courtney Bird, one of the original visionaries of Falmouth’s network, who is running for re-election.
For more info, see my Falmouth Enterprise, Op-ed, Why Falmouth’s Network Needs A Municipal Light Board, from April 14, 2023. And, of course, the text of MGL Chapter 164 is dispositive.
I grew up in Falmouth. My family came in 1954, when I was 5, and became year-round in 1956. My dad was an MBL scientist. My mom taught in Falmouth Public Schools. I attended Falmouth Public School, Deerfield Academy, Corvallis (OR) High School, University of Oregon, Johns Hopkins, and Cal Tech (Ph.D. 1977). I did post-doc work at Haskins Labs and MIT. My career included twelve years at Bell Labs, where I was awarded the title, “Distinguished Member of Technical Staff.”
In all this time, Falmouth was home. No year passed when I didn’t set foot in Falmouth. Bought land here, 1985. Built house, 2006. Became year-round again, 2014.
At Bell Labs, my work followed the emerging Internet. After Bell Labs, I focused on broadband Internet technology and policy, especially municipal networks. I helped write the first National Broadband Plan as Senior Advisor to the FCC. I was invited to organize an international symposium to celebrate the completion of Lafayette, Louisiana’s fiber optic network, the first city-wide fiber-to-the-home network in the USA. I ran a series of conferences in Washington DC and NYC called “Freedom to Connect,” that featured my heroes of the Internet.
In 2019, I teamed up with Courtney Bird and Art Gaylord to bring a town-wide network to Falmouth. We organized as FalmouthNet, Inc., a 501©(3) non-profit. We help EDIC do a great feasibility study, we created a high-level design that’s a blueprint for our network, and we got Town Meeting to establish our Falmouth Broadband MLP.
Now I’m running for MLP to bring a world-class fiber optic Internet access network to Falmouth, and competition to Comcast.
