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Date: 10/18/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — West Springfield is waiting for Verizon and Eversource to finish work on utility poles so the town can start its municipal fiber pilot program, said Chief Technology Officer Stephanie Straitiff.
Between two votes in 2021 and 2022, the town established a public utility department that will create a town-owned fiber-optic cable network, providing internet and telephone service. In December 2022, Reminder Publishing reported that a pilot program was going to bring service to four neighborhoods, in partnership with Westfield’s Whip City Fiber. Residents, including those not living in the pilot neighborhoods, were encouraged to sign up.
The town submitted applications to Verizon and Eversource to gain access to utility poles as early as November 2021. With the applications approved, the companies booked employees or contractors to do “make-ready” work on the poles, adjusting the wires already there to make space for the new ones. This work must be completed before a pilot program can start.
Straitiff said the companies are still in this phase of work. The last update she received from Verizon showed 23% of one neighborhood is complete, and another at 29%.
“It’s a frustrating wait, for sure, but we’re doing everything we can do to push it along,” she said.
The timeline for the townwide fiber project has been delayed at least two years by this work. Straitiff said she now expects the make-ready work in the pilot neighborhoods to be done next spring. The town is hoping to begin serving customers in 2024, but she noted they originally planned for this in 2023.
“Once this stuff is done, things will really rapidly advance,” she said.
Straitiff said the town has received 272 applications for service in the pilot neighborhoods. Townwide, there are 643. People who have signed up are receiving updates on a quasi-regular basis, especially in the pilot area. Straitiff encouraged more people to sign up, which can be done at www.whipcityfiber.com/west-side.
“I think it’s important to understand our potential customer base,” she said.
All four pilot neighborhoods are along Westfield Street (Route 20) in the Tatham and Mittineague sections of West Springfield. Two pilot areas that adjoin each other are bordered by Rogers Avenue, Cornflower Drive and Lower Beverly Hills. Another runs south of Westfield Street, west of Mittineague Park and Tatham School to Poplar Avenue, extending as far south as Robinson Road. The final neighborhood runs between Westfield and Ashley streets, east of Mittineague Park from Alderbrook Lane to Nelson and Fenor streets. A map of these neighborhoods can be seen at whipcityfiber.com/west-side/fiberapp.
The Town Council budgeted $2 million for the pilot program. The last estimate for wiring the entire town is between $25 million and $30 million. Straitiff said the fiber-optic network will be a revenue source, so the town won’t have to borrow the full amount in order to begin construction. In Westfield, Whip City Fiber used revenues from the first neighborhoods connected to pay for construction costs in subsequent neighborhoods.
Whip City is advertising West Springfield rates of $74.99 per month for 1 gigabyte internet service and $19.95 per month for phone service. Internet service comes with free installation and no data caps.