This fall we have noticed that there are a large number of people who have stayed on the island longer than usual. This is likely due to the continuing COVID-19 restrictions and our ability, in many cases, to work effectively without being in an office. Right now, all of our digital communications (that are not cellular) occur through a fiber optic feed that connects us to the mainland. The feed is a cable that lies under the ocean.
The Town of Nantucket, in its Strategic Plan, under the section called Quality of Life, has made a commitment to invest in technology on the island. The first part of the plan is to improve public wireless access in the downtown area. The second part is to research and improve internet access across the entire island. There is an IT Governance Team working on how this might look and what is feasible. One of their first tasks will be to implement a design study.
Finding the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for the future will be complex and will likely result in some sort of public/private collaboration.