Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

Westfield G&E rolls out pilot fiber optic program

Date: 5/22/2015

WESTFIELD – Westfield Gas and Electric has launched a pilot program that offers fiber optic network to parts of the city.

The Whip City Fiber initiative offers high-speed Internet access to those residents in the selected pilot area with hopes of eventually rolling it out to the whole city, according to Sean Fitzgerald, energy specialist for Westfield Gas and Electric.

Those 300 or so residents who have enrolled in the pilot program have responded positively to the service, Fitzgerald said. Though it may be some time before Westfield Gas and Electric is able to bring it to the entire city, some residents have already been asking for it.

“The response has been really good … We’ve had many people in the entire city request it,” he said. “All indications are that people want to see the product in their neighborhoods.”

Fitzgerald said Westfield Gas and Electric has a unique offering for the community with this program. He said it is community company that is “local and reliable” while still being affordable.

It is something that is becoming more commonplace across the country, Fitzgerald said.

“If you look around the country, this is a growing model. A lot of companies are doing it in rural areas,” he said. “I think they’re fed up with large corporations and lack of customer service and responsiveness … One thing we do really well is providing responsive customer service, so this is one more service, a premium service, and we’re doing it at a community price.”

The high-speed Internet connection that the Whip City Fiber program offers is nothing new for Westfield Gas and Electric. Fitzgerald said the company has been using the network for more than 20 years for internal use and municipal facilities.

He said this makes Whip City Fiber even more reliable.

“We are not new to this. We’ve been doing this. We have fiber already in the city,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re not just jumping into this cold. We have a lot of talent and experience.”

Fitzgerald believes that the opportunity for citywide fiber optic Internet is more than just the ability to download a movie in minutes. He said it would help boost the city of Westfield as a whole.

“We feel strongly that this type of Internet service will be an economic development tool that will benefit the city and will help attract business and ultimately help the community become an attraction, granted that’s once we get beyond the pilot,” Fitzgerald said.

For more information about the Whip City Fiber program or to find out if you are in the pilot area, visit www.whipcityfiber.com or call 572-0100.