Comcast has purchased two municipal broadband systems in Braintree and Russell, Massachusetts after the communities said that necessary network build outs would be too expensive. 

The two Massachusetts communities have long histories in the municipal broadband business, with Braintree Electric Light Department (BELD), the town’s municipal electric utility, launching service in 2003. Russell launched its cable TV system in 1988. According to the town’s website, pricing for Russell Cable TV is $77 per month for expanded basic service and broadband charges range from $65 per month for 10 Mbps service and $120 per month for 50 Mbps service. 

BELD didn’t say how much it sold the system for, which was launched in 2003 and had about 2,500 customers, about 500 less than last year. Comcast has been providing video, voice and data service in Braintree for several years but did not previously offer service in Russell. 

BELD dropped its cable TV offering in 2019, citing the high cost of programming. 

Also: More Muni, More Money 

According to a statement issued on its website, BELD Internet general manager Bill Bottiggi said a study conducted by the utility showed it would need to invest millions of dollars to maintain the quality of the service, which would result in the municipality having to charge significantly higher rates for service. BELD launched a 1 Gigabit per second service in 2019 and charged as low as $39.95 per month for the first year for 100 Megabit per second service.

According to BroadbandNow, BELD charged $99.95 per month for 1Gbps service and $79.95 per month for 400 Mbps service. The town said the transition to Comcast will begin later this month. Promotional pricing for Comcast service in the area ranges from $29.99 for the first two years for 200 Mbps speeds and $79.99 for the first 24 months for 1.2 Gbps service. 

"We are proud of our 20-year history as a top internet Service Provider and are sincerely thankful for our customers' loyalty," Bottiggi said in a statement. "Our top priority has always been our customers, and we continue to think of their best interests while adjusting to market conditions.  After evaluating our options, we are confident the best decision is to connect our business with Comcast's best in-class network, products, services and customer experience."

A Comcast spokesperson said the purchases represent two separate and unique opportunities and that it was coincidental they closed at the same time. Talks to purchase the Russell system began about two years ago, while BELD approached Comcast about a possible transaction beginning in April. 

“We chose Comcast because it is the best operator in the business with the fastest and most reliable network,”  Russell Municipal Cable manager Randy Merritt said in a statement. “They are true innovators who continuously invest in their network to meet customers’ current and future needs and we are confident this sale will ensure our customers have access to Comcast’s best-in-class network, products, services and customer experience.” 

Braintree is about 12 miles from Boston, and at least three other nearby communities -- Quincy, Weymouth and Milton -- have expressed plans to offer their own municipal broadband service. 

Russell is located within Hampden County in western Massachusetts and has a population of 1,640 people, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. 

In a blog post, Comcast said it plans to transition Russell Municipal Cable TV customers to its Xfinity services through the end of the year and in January. 

“The acquisition of Russell Municipal Cable TV gives Comcast an opportunity to provide customers in the Town of Russell with access to our Xfinity and Comcast Business innovative products and services, including our broadband internet experience with the fastest broadband speeds available to residents,” Comcast Western New England Region SVP Carolyne Hannan said in the blog post. “We have a longstanding commitment to serving the communities in the Commonwealth where our customers and employees live and work and are proud to extend that commitment to our newest community in western Massachusetts.”

Nearly 20 years after breaking into the video business, municipal electric utility BELD Internet (formerly BELD Broadband) is throwing in the programming towel, telling its customers that as of Dec. 2 they will have to get their content elsewhere, and launching an education campaign to teach them how to do just that.

In the campaign, called “K.O. Cable,” and featuring rea local customers, BELD claims that signing on to its high-speed internet service and streaming video from other sources will save customers $1,000 or more per year. The launch also coincides with the introduction of BELD’s own 1 Gigabit-per-second data service.

“As of Dec. 2, 2019, BELD will no longer offer cable television service due to costs beyond our control,” BELD general manager Bill Bottiggi said in a press release. “So for any Braintree resident thinking about cutting the cord, now’s the time and we’ll coach you through it with straightforward, step-by-step guidance.”

Related: Moffett: Video Just Doesn’t Matter 

BELD -- an acronym for Braintree Electric Light Department -- got permission to offer video in 2000.

BELD is the second small operator to shutter its video service. In June, Montana’s 3 Rivers Communications told its customers it would pull the plug on video on Oct. 31. 

Small operators have been hit particularly hard by rising programming costs. And as streaming services have sprung up offering multiple channels at lower prices, operators are finding it harder to compete. CableOne was probably the first small operator to publicly de-emphasize video in favor of higher-margin broadband services. In the past few years, other larger operators have adopted similar stances.