Princeton Broadband Municipal Light Plant

Background / Updates

• The Princeton Broadband Municipal Light Plant (PBMLP) was established pursuant to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 164, Section 47E, per vote of the May 14, 2013 and May 13, 2014 Annual Town Meetings.
• Based on a Special Town Meeting vote on November 18, 2014 and then a Special Town Election, the Town approved $1.2 million for so-called "make-ready" work. Make-ready includes the movement of telephone and electrical lines, upgrades to utility poles, and the construction of small structures for the housing of equipment.
• The September 13, 2016 Special Town Meeting voted to pass over Article 2 (whereby the proposal was to have a Fiber-to-the-Home system, contracted by the Town, to be built and for certain aspects to be managed by a 3rd party). The general reasoning for the change in the proposal was given that Comcast had expressed interest in serving the Town of Princeton. Please visit the Broadband News page for updates on the Board of Selectmen's pursuit for a cable franchise.
• The September 13, 2016 Special Town Meeting voted to adopt the provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 164, Section 55(1) to elect a municipal light board for the PBMLP consisting of five residents of the town at the next annual town election (May of 2017), to replace the current board.
• Make-ready Update as of November 1, 2017 - Back in 2016 the Princeton Municipal Light Department (PMLD) completed pole replacements and the movement of electrical lines to accommodate the necessary space on utility poles for "communication" lines. These lines fall between the electrical space (top of pole) and the telephone space (typically the lowest line mounted to the pole). To begin this entire process, in late 2015/early 2016, the PBMLP had submitted 13 applications to Verizon. Each application consists of approximately 200 poles. As of September 15, 2017, Verizon completed the make-ready work. The PBMLP has been working with the various stakeholders to transfer the pole attachment agreement & licenses to Charter Communications. It is anticipated that the transfer will be complete in early November.

1. Pole Application No. 1 - Complete
2. Pole Application No. 2 - Complete
3. Pole Application No. 3 - Complete
4. Pole Application No. 4 - Complete
5. Pole Application No. 5 - Complete
6. Pole Application No. 6 - Complete
7. Pole Application No. 7 - Complete
8. Pole Application No. 8 - Complete
9. Pole Application No. 9 - Complete
10. Pole Application No. 10 - Complete
11. Pole Application No. 11 - Complete (this application was the last one received on 9/15)
12. Pole Application No. 12 - Complete
13. Pole Application No. 13 - Complete