Along with the rest of the Naugatuck Valley, Seymour used to be a bastion of innovation and production in the stronger days of American industry.
The can opener was invented in Waterbury, the friction-lit match in Beacon Falls, and of course, the Wiffle ball in Shelton.
As the industrial jobs were exported, many watched on helplessly as the factories closed and the community struggled to adapt its economic strategy to compensate for the vacated Brownfield sites and the prosperity they once offered.
We grew into communities that contributed in a different manner, but we lost a lot of our innovative edge along the way. We now rely partially on the assortment of small industries that reside mostly in our industrial parks, but we rely far more heavily on the retail and service industries to maintain a positive economic balance in our individual communities.
In this sense, the Valley is decidedly “All-American.”
A great deal of communities in our country have suffered the same fate at the hands of deindustrialization, but several have found ways to overcome it and regain their previously lost levels of fruition. We can regain our leading edge, as well, by implementing some proven programs.
Gigabit internet is a 1000 megabit per second internet connection. When municipally owned, this service saves the consumer money, while delivering a much faster, more reliable, less expensive, higher quality product.
The fiber optic wires that would run to your home would be capable of handling a 10 gigabit connection, leaving room for future expansion when this faster option becomes more affordable and beneficial to offer.
Cable television can be run through this connection, as well, with a few system upgrades.
Only a handful of communities in the country have implemented this so far, but Connecticut has taken the lead legislatively and paved the way for communities in our state to do this without obstruction from the lobbying efforts of the major cable companies that is frequently seen in other states.
This would not be a mandatory utility for consumers, leaving them with the freedom to choose which company they use for internet and cable.
Gigabit communities attract businesses. In today’s data-driven marketplace, the transfer of large quantities of information at high speed is attractive to many industries.
Engineering, medical, financial, market research, and high-tech manufacturing are just a few of the many industries that already see benefit from such an internet connection, scarcely available in America, yet already largely available across much of Europe.
Gigabit internet benefits these businesses, but remains available to consumers who want a better internet service. Cable television can be run through the system with the addition of signal receiving equipment, passing on the savings to consumers. For a slightly higher investment, we can run 10 gigabit commercially-available internet to a small strip of our town. This connection would attract a hefty amount of business to Seymour.
This is the first in a three-part series. Next, I’ll talk about more programs.
The author is running on the Democratic line for the Seymour Board of Selectmen.
