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Date: 4/29/2020
BOSTON/WESTFIELD – During Gov. Charlie Baker’s near daily press conference for COVID–19 updates on April 22, Lt. Governor Karen Polito announced their efforts to bring broader internet access to the commonwealth and their partnership with Westfield Gas and Electric.
Polito started off her portion of the press conference by explaining that it’s “so important” for the people of the commonwealth to have internet capabilities in their homes so that they have the ability to access information to keep their families safe.” She cited that when she and Baker came into office for the first time, over five years ago, “not every community had similar access to the internet.”
Polito further explained that in Massachusetts, 53 communities are underserved or unserved in their ability to access the internet through broadband. She noted that through the Last Mile Program, they were able to bring access to 16,000 homes in the 53 communities.
“That is so important when we’re asking people to access telehealth, or asking people to work from home,” or students to access the internet for their curriculums, she said. In areas in the Commonwealth, it’s just not possible so there are gaps,” in service.
In conjunction with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute with Mass Tech, Polito said they are also working with state owned networks to offer new WiFi hotspots to unserved municipalities.
The WiFi hotspots will be offered on a rolling basis to a high speed connection, free from any charge, at a public community institution, Polito explained.
"Citizens who use these [hot spots] must follow social distancing,” Polito said, and noted that the town will post clear signs to insure people are safe when accessing the hot spots.
Polito then thanked Westfield Gas and Electric for being a “strategic partner” to bring broadband to underserved communities. She stated Westfield Gas and Electric are planning 14 of the new WiFi hotspots to come online to help in the area.
Westfield G&E is expected to launch new hot spots in Ashfield, Blandford, Becket, Charlemont, Chesterfield, Colrain, Cummington, Goshen, Heath, Leyden, New Salem, Washington, Wendell and Windsor on a rolling basis over the coming weeks, according to company officials.
“We are going to be connecting people as fast as we can,” Westfield Gas and Electric spokesperson Lisa Stowe told Reminder Publishing.
Stowe admitted that while the coronavirus outbreak has slowed installations considerably, the company is working hard to do as much prep work as possible so that when operations resume fully in the coming weeks or months ahead they will bring more people online.
Currently, Westfield G&E offers fiber internet to 75 percent of the Westfield community, and in the surrounding Hilltowns. Free public WiFi hotspots in the Whip City are located on the downtown green and at Bullens Field.
On the gas and electric side of things, Westfield G&E continues to provide emergency services to its customers, all while strictly adhering to social distancing guidelines, according to Stowe. Terminations of services due to unpaid bills have also been suspended temporarily while “stay-at-home orders” remain in effect.
“We have the benefit of being a municipally-owned utility,” Stowe said. “We offer services that are lower than the state average and are able to provide support to folks receiving less of a paycheck than usual or have been laid off.”
Stowe also added, “We are all looking back to normal operations and appreciate the Westfield community during these [unprecedented] times.”
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In a tangible example of the Last Mile Program’s efforts, the fiber hut and generator that will bring the long-awaited broadband to town residents arrived on April 22.
Peter Langmore, who serves on the Blandford Municipal Light Board, said the hut will be the center of the fiber network for the town. “All fiber connections for the town originate in that building,” he said, adding that the Davenport Crane Service out of Greenfield lifted the 38,000 pound hut into position on North Blandford Road.
The generator that was installed next to the hut will be a backup power source for the internet, if the town were to lose power, Langmore said.
He said once the hut is powered, the next step will be for the utility and the engineering company to do a “rideout” and power audit of all the poles, to make certain they meet specifications for the installation of the fiber.
Whip City Fiber, a division of Westfield Gas & Electric, which has guided the Blandford Municipal Light Plant through the process, will be the internet service provider for the town, and will offer one gigabyte of internet access with an option for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone service.
All above and below ground services will be included, and homeowners will be consulted prior to construction. Westfield will construct the entire network, test it, and then start implementing fiber to the homes within the five Fiber Service Areas in the town. Homes will be “lit up” as each area is completed.