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Date: 3/9/2023
WILBRAHAM — After a decade of research and studies, Wilbraham is taking concrete steps toward installing a town-owned fiber optic network. Now, the Wilbraham Broadband Committee wants residents to sign up.
The town has been pursuing the creation of a municipal fiber optic network for several reasons, two of them are reliability and affordability. Board of Selectmen Clerk Susan Bunnell said daily life is becoming increasingly more dependent on internet connectivity, noting that it is now common for people to work and attend school remotely. Town Administrator Nick Breault said internet is now an essential utility, “just like water or electricity.”
Like all utilities, internet connectivity requires infrastructure. A request for qualifications was sent out to seek an owner’s project manager (OPM), who will design and oversee the creation of a municipal fiber optic network. Fiber optic internet uses a network of ultra-thin glass-fiber cables to send data via high-speed pulses of light. Because the data uses light to travel, it is significantly faster than a cable internet connection, which transmits data electrically through copper wires.
One benefit of fiber is in how it manages data transfer. Internet data runs in two directions, download and upload. While cable download speeds can rival that of fiber, Bunnell said that the average commercial upload speed tops out at 10 megabits per second. Because fiber uses different strands for each direction of data flow, it can offer 10 gigabits of both download and upload speed.
Wilbraham’s town-owned buildings already use fiber optic connections. The town is connected to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute's MassBroadband 123, a network first created in the 2010s to spread high-speed internet connectivity throughout the state. However, the network that would serve residents throughout the town would be a separate system, owned by Wilbraham, rather than the state.
An advantage of the town owning the fiber infrastructure is that Wilbraham maintains control, said Tom Newton, chair of the Wilbraham Broadband Advisory Committee. Security is also a factor. Newton explained that emergency services could link to each other through a virtual private network, which establishes an encrypted connection through which departments can communicate.
Bunnell said the installation of the network would likely be phased over time. Newton said that because the network would be built from scratch, the town can help ensure its reliability. “The aim is to bury as much of the network as possible,” said Newton. Buried cable is protected from the high winds and falling trees associated with storms. He also noted the cost of burying a fiber network is comparable to running it overhead, but Bunnell clarified that the network would only be buried in areas of town that already have buried utilities to avoid tearing up more roads than necessary.
Cost
The town plans to partner with a company that will host multiple internet service providers (ISP). This would allow customers to choose whichever ISP they prefer and switch between them, increasing competition. Bunnell said services on the town-owned network will be comparable, if not less expensive than currently available commercial providers.
Cost could prove to be key in gaining commitments from residents and businesses, because use of the system is voluntary.
“We’re hoping for a take rate of 60 percent,” Newton said. That threshold, roughly 3,000 of the town’s 5,000 addresses, would be required for the system to become self-sustaining. So far, there have been about 800 commitments to using the network.
A commitment to using the network also means a commitment to shoulder a portion of the infrastructure cost. The infrastructure cost could be added to the user’s monthly service bill or incorporated into the property taxes, explained Newton. According to the digital access plan, the document detailing the proposed network and business plan, with a 60 percent take rate and the infrastructure cost added to the bill, the estimated cost per address is between $46 and $53 per month over a 20-year commitment. The cost breakdown varies slightly depending on how much of the network is buried, rather than aerial, but the infrastructure portion would be between $15 and $22. There would be a flat “maintenance and operations” charge of about $21 and a $10 for the ISP services.
If a fiber user sells their home, the fiber infrastructure would add value, Newton said. The new homeowner would take over the network commitment.
“There’s no question it’s a significant investment,” Newton acknowledged, but he made the case that people are paying for internet service now and “[Spectrum is] lining their pockets,” while residents have “nothing to show for it. With this, it can increase the value of your home.”
Both Bunnell and Newton see non-monetary value, as well. Bunnell said it may give seniors the ability to age in their homes through the use of smart devices. The digital access plan cites “hospital-at-home devices like remotely managed IV pumps” as one such device. There would also be an added level of online security for people to have remote appointments with doctors and clinicians. Meanwhile Newton said the existence of a fiber network may incentivize medical providers to locate in Wilbraham.
“We’re building for the future,” Newton said.
For more information about the project, visit www.wilbrahamfiber.com.