Lyndon Township & Broadband Project COVID-19 Response

Lyndon Township & Broadband Project COVID-19 Response

The Governor has issued Executive Directive No. 2020-2 with respect to the Open Meetings Act. The township will continue to hold public meetings via audio & video conferencing only and only conducting business via phone, email, mail and drop-box (at Twp. hall) for the next 3 weeks(4-4-2020). Some meetings will be canceled and rescheduled. Township doors will be locked. The conference call in number and meeting code will be noticed on the Lyndon Township website http://www.twp-lyndon.org for each meeting. We ask for your patience as we work through these challenging times.

With many residents now conducting work and educational activities from home, we understand that broadband has become even more critical. While many Lyndon Township residents now have access to broadband, we know that many others have yet to be hooked up. The Lyndon Township Broadband Oversight and Implementation Committees are working together to explore measures to help residents who do not yet have access to broadband.

WiFi at the Township Hall
The WiFi at the Township Hall is available for public use. Residents are welcome to park in the Township parking lot and access the WiFi. You should park near the front of the building – the WiFi access point is on the northeast corner of the building. The wireless networks are “Lyndon Public 5GHz” and “Lyndon Public 2.4GHz”. The 5GHz network can yield faster speeds but has shorter coverage, the 2.4GHz can yield slower speeds but has better coverage. Speeds are highly affected by distance from the access point, how much the metal in your car blocks the signal, and other factors. Please note that while the Township Hall has a 1 Gbps connection, actual speeds on WiFi will be slower than this.

Expediting home connections.
Both Lyndon Broadband committees understand the frustration of residents who have signed up for service but are not yet connected. Even before the COVID-19 concerns, the Implementation Committee has been working to get the remaining residents connected as quickly as possible. The current construction schedule that was just released: http://www.lyndonbroadband.org/2020/03/14/lyndon-broadband-project-status-update-3-14-2020/ represents the best estimate for when home installations are likely to occur in each zone. We are working to see if there is any way we can get people connected more quickly while still staying within the budget that is available for the project, although at this time we cannot promise to go any faster than the current estimates.

Maintaining the current schedule
The Lyndon Broadband committees are working with MEC to monitor whether COVID-19 is likely to impact the schedule for the remaining construction and installations. At this time there are no delays due to COVID-19. Outdoor fiber work continues as planned. Home installations are continuing as they become available. MEC’s in-home installers will not continue to work if they show any signs of illness. We do ask any residents who are showing any signs of illness to defer scheduling their in-home installations until they are healthy.

Additional measures.  The Lyndon Broadband committees are exploring additional measures to provide relief to residents who do not yet have access to broadband and will make further announcements if any of these measures are implemented.

Thank you for your patience during this difficult time. If you have any questions or concerns, please email lyndonbroadband1@gmail.com.

This information is also available on the Lyndon Township Website:

http://www.twp-lyndon.org/news_detail_T6_R7.php

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