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Page 2 of 2 <br /> "We would much prefer that there was an outlay of high-speed fiber(by carriers), of course, but we <br /> understand the business and that we will have to do it ourselves," said Gallagher. "If other areas want to <br /> have more options, they will probably have to do it themselves as well." <br /> Such groups may have found a new evangelist-- in Massachusetts' new broadband czar, Stan McGee. <br /> McGee has singled out the Berkshires;Cape Cod and the Pioneer Valley as areas that need to be looked <br /> at more closely by state officials for rural broadband access. <br /> "For-profit companies sometimes cut out areas of lower density because it is not economical for them," <br /> said Nicholas Vantzelfde, founder of CMA Capital, a telecommunications consulting and equity firm in <br /> Boston who has consulted on the wireless projects of Boston, Cape Cod and Rhode Island. <br /> An example occurred earlier this year, when Verizon Communications sold its wireline properties in <br /> Maine,New Hampshire and Vermont to FairPoint Communications Inc. for$2.7 billion. Verizon, which <br /> is focused on the rollout of its fiber-to-the-home product,FiOS, could not make the economics of the <br /> service work in low-density areas, according to analysts, so it transferred the region to a company, <br /> FairPoint, that specializes in rural areas. <br /> On the Cape, Comcast last year took over the network previously owned by Adelphia Communications <br /> Corp.,which filed bankruptcy in 2002. <br /> But despite some carrier interest in such areas, community projects continue to move forward. <br /> OpenCape,for example, recently installed the first link of its wireless network between University of <br /> Massachusetts Dartmouth and Woods Hole, and hopes to have five links spanning the "spine" of the <br /> Cape by the summer: <br /> Dan Gallagher <br /> Executive Director <br /> information Technology <br /> Cape Cod Community College <br /> 2240 lyannough Road <br /> West Barnstable, MA 02668-1599 <br /> dgallagher@capecod.edu <br /> Office: (508)362-2131 ext. 4701 <br /> Toll Free: (877) 846-3672 ext. 4701 <br /> Cell: (508)367-9884 <br /> Fax: (508)375-4162 <br /> 4/12/2007 <br />