More supplies have arrived on-island and network construction is ramping up. Sertex will be increasing the number of crews on the Island as more permitting is released this fall.

Over the next few months, Sertex will be working to prepare individual properties to be connected to BroadbandBI. Since many island residents are seasonal and may have already returned home, we wanted to share information about what will be happening over the coming months with network construction.

These are the steps that must be completed before your property is connected to BroadbandBI.

If your utilities come to your property from underground:

1. Install orange drop conduit, which makes a path for fiber.
2. Install exterior fiber connection, which runs fiber cable from the utility poles through your orange conduit to the outside of your property.

If your existing utilities come to your property aerially from a utility pole to the house, there is just one step. The Sertex team will run an aerial fiber cable from the utility pole to the outside of your property.

As we await make ready and permitting approvals in preparation for underground roadside and utility pole construction, Sertex crews are continuing to work with hundreds of property owners to plan and install conduit drops. Once conduit is in place and aerial fiber has been stranded in your area, properties will start to receive exterior fiber connections.

It is not necessary for property owners or trusted designees to be on-site for exterior fiber connection.

Planning for Interior Installations

You can start planning now for where you’d prefer interior equipment to be installed. Interior equipment will include an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and a wireless router. Please keep in mind that the equipment should be within 50 feet of the exterior Network Interface Device (NID), and within six feet of an electrical outlet. The Standard Broadband Configuration for a Single-Family Home diagram offers a visual reference. More information and illustrations of equipment will be provided in future construction updates.

If your orange drop conduit has already been installed, the terminating end will give an approximate location of the NID.

Over the winter months, Internet service subscriptions will be added to the BroadbandBI website. When that happens, property owners will be able to select their Internet service plan(s). We’ll announce when it’s time to subscribe for service through future construction updates, email communications, and BI Bulletin Board posts.

Would you like more Information?

The BroadbandBI website provides a wealth of project information including answers to frequently asked questions, preliminary subscription pricing, detailed information on the phases of construction, and construction updates.

If you have additional questions about the Block Island Broadband network project or your installation, please email Sertex customer service.

Thank you for your support and patience throughout this complex, multi-phase construction project.