About Internet Service Plans
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Get fiber-fast Internet and phone service for a low monthly rate with multiple service tiers from 25 Mbps to 1 Gbps with no data usage limits or caps. The Town of New Shoreham establishes all plans and pricing to provide options for customers while recognizing the needs and priorities of the Block Island community.
Internet Service Tiers and What They Deliver
There are no data limit caps for any service tier.
The table below lists the Internet service tiers currently available for subscription and the speed that should be achievable with a capable device cabled directly to the router or connected via the router’s Wi-Fi. All service plan download/upload speeds represent the speed delivered to the BroadbandBI equipment (ONT) at the premises. Devices that are direct connected (via ethernet cable) to the router can generally achieve 98% to 100% of the service plan speeds.
Wi-Fi connection speeds will often be less than the service plan speeds, due to characteristics of the device (age, technology), distance from the router, and environmental factors impacting wireless signals.
Best Effort and Guaranteed Service
Plans are offered at the industry standard “best effort” and “guaranteed” levels.
With “best effort” service, multiple users in a pre-designated area share a fixed amount of bandwidth. Because BroadbandBI is a carefully designed network, any congestion from shared use will go virtually undetected as it takes milliseconds to complete even 1G transactions in short bursts. Our network partners monitor the performance of each subscriber and adjust service to achieve best effort bandwidth. (Think of bandwidth as traffic flow on a highway – if the road is adequately designed, traffic moves along with no issues at the speed limit or even above.) The Town has set the bar high for best effort service with its vendor partners, Sertex and Crocker.
“Guaranteed service” is typically purchased by high-end users (e.g., businesses with large data transfer needs or mission-critical applications). This service provides the subscriber with a specific amount of bandwidth on the island infrastructure, and with data prioritized on Island this service eliminates potential contention for bandwidth with other island customers. BroadbandBI cannot guarantee service speeds across the entire Internet as Internet is itself a best effort network.
Internet Service Tiers Pricing
No data limit caps for any service levels.
NOTE: Installation charges are waived for initial subscribers. New customers joining after the network buildout or those who choose to reconnect after disconnection will be assessed the following fees:
- $39.95 for best effort plans
- $200.00 for guaranteed plans
Phone Service & Pricing
Includes up to 1000 minutes per month long-distance calling in the contiguous United States (forty-eight states, excludes Hawaii and Alaska), Canada and Puerto Rico. Calls to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are considered international calls. Phone service includes voicemail, 3-way calling, caller ID and call waiting. Business telephone services are also available.
1. Installation is waived for initial subscribers. Installation price applies to new customers joining after the build or those who choose to reconnect after disconnection.
Seasonal Service Options
BroadbandBI does not offer a designated “seasonal” service plan. We recommend seasonal customers drop down to the minimal 25/25 Mbps service plan during the off-season to enable any internet-enabled “smart” devices (such as smart thermostats, video doorbells, fire/burglar alarm monitoring systems, and others) to continue to function and enable off-site home or business monitoring.
If a customer chooses to disconnect service entirely during the off-season, a $39.95 service reconnect service charge will apply for Best Effort service plans and $200.00 for Guaranteed contract plans. This assumes that a successful reconnect can be performed remotely by Crocker. If a technician visit to the property is necessary to perform a reconnect, additional service charges including labor and site visit will apply. Since the service has not been continuously monitored for performance during the disconnect period, remote reconnect cannot be guaranteed.
For customers with Crocker telephone service, the assigned telephone number will be lost upon disconnection of service.
Future policy and pricing changes possible
After the summer 2023 season the Town/BroadbandBI will review seasonal disconnect activity and its financial impacts as well as the needs and requests of the community. It is likely that there will be changes to the policies and/or pricing around seasonal disconnect/reconnects as a result of this analysis. Any changes would likely become effective July 1, 2024; community participation is encouraged.
Additional Pricing
Fiber Service Connection
NOTE: Charges were waived for property owners that registered for a fiber drop to an existing primary structure. New customers joining after the network buildout will bear the cost of the fiber connection.
Fiber connection to the exterior of the premises (NID), including any underground drop construction required. These charges will be quoted based on property review and/or a site survey if underground construction is required. If environmental or other permitting is required, the cost will be borne by the property owner.
Interior Equipment Installation and Service Activation
NOTE: Charges for a Standard Installation are waived for property owners that registered for a fiber drop to an existing primary structure. New customers joining after the network buildout will be bear the cost of the interior equipment installation and service activation.
Costs for a standard interior subscription service installation and activation include:
Some properties and premises may have installation requirements that exceed the standard installation. Additional items may be necessary to accommodate building characteristics and/or subscriber’s desired equipment location. These will be discussed with the subscriber at the time of installation, along with the applicable charges. Optional items are also available for purchase at subscriber request.
For all custom installation items, payment is required at the time of purchase. Credit card payment only is accepted, no cash or checks.
Commercial installations having multiple dwelling units and/or more complex installation requirements may require a site visit and preparation of a quote prior to installation. Installations for 1Gb/1Gb Guaranteed service will require non-standard (XPS PON) ONT equipment which will be quoted in advance of installation.
A rescheduling fee of $135.00 will be charged to customers that do not provide at least two (2) business days’ notice of the need to reschedule a service installation appointment.
Hospitality/Resale Pricing
A Hospitality option for businesses reselling internet to customers (such as hotels, marinas) will be priced as follows:
- A charge of $100 per month for a resale fee.
- During the season (defined as when hospitality is open for customer business), hospitality will be charged a monthly fee of $10 per room or if marina then $10 per licensed boat slip.
- The $10 monthly fees will be suspended when the facility is closed during the off-season (defined as when hospitality is not open for customer business).
Other Fees & Charges
Additional e-mail address: $54 per year
Late Fee: TBD
Returned Payment: TBD
Interest on unpaid balances: Up to 18.00%
Equipment Return Charge: TBD
IP Addresses
Static IP: $5.00 per month
IP4 – 4 Addresses: $20.00 per month
IP8 – 8 Addresses: $30.00 per month
IP16 – 16 Addresses: $40.00 per month
IP32 – 32 Addresses: $60.00 per month
IP64 – 64 Addresses: $90.00 per month
IP128 – 128 Addresses: $128.00 per month
IP256 – 256 Addresses: $256.00 per month
Affordable Connectivity Program
A Note About Future Services & Pricing Models
When identifying a partner to operate and provide service over the Town’s network, it was important for the Town to retain a level of control and flexibility over pricing and service structures. Customers of the network have a variety of needs and the community may wish to distribute costs across service levels in a different manner. The Town, Crocker and Sertex may work together over the duration of the partnership to modify service offerings and pricing structures where appropriate in order to best reflect the priorities of the island community and the customer base. Some pricing was established by contract through the RFP process; other pricing (particularly the Town O&M charge) is set by the Town. Ongoing annual budgeting and rate setting for BroadbandBI will be a public process and community participation is encouraged.