A Municipal Fiber to the Home Network for Charlemont Massacusetts
The town of Charlemont has brand new devices, including Windows 11 laptop computers, Chromebooks, iPads, and android tablets available for free to qualified residents. Those with low-income, a disability, veteran status, or are elderly can qualify. For more information, please visit the device distribution page on the Charlemont website or stop by the town hall.
Comments closedBeginning in July, subscribers to Charlemont’s municipal broadband service who receive the federal Lifeline benefit through Whip City Fiber will have an additional $30/month subsidy automatically applied to their internet bills. This town subsidy is in addition to the $9.25 credit from Lifeline.
Comments closedThe Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is an FCC benefit program that offers qualifying households a $30.00 per month credit on their internet bill. Due to uncertain congressional funding, the FCC has announced that ACP could be terminated by the end of April 2024 and has announced guidelines for wrapping up the program.
Comments closedIf you have already signed up for service but have not yet scheduled your installation, please contact Whip City Fiber at 413-485-1251 or email customerservice@wgeld.org to make an appointment. To receive the full installation subsidy, the installation must be scheduled by September 30, 2022.
Comments closedAll Charlemont property owners are eligible for a subsidy to make each house, apartment building, or business ‘Internet Ready’ without committing to a year of service. Sometimes referred to as a ‘cold drop’, the installation will typically include making the connection from the distribution network to the outside of a premise, but does not include any of the interior wiring needed for service to be activated. To qualify for this reduced subsidy of $500 for owner occupied dwellings and $1000 for landlords, each location must be signed up by the August 31 deadline using the service tier labeled ‘I want fiber to my house but am not ready to commit to service’.
Comments closedIn order to receive up to $1,400 on the one-time installation costs to connect a home, apartment or business to the municipal fiber network, the Charlemont location must be subscribed for service no later than August 31! There are additional deadlines that need to be met as outlined in the Charlemont Connect Service Connection and Installation Policy. To ensure that the construction account can be fully closed out this fall, deadlines have been added to the policy to make the subsidy contingent on activating service by November 30.
Comments closedCharlemont’s municipal fiber network has exceeded five hundred subscribers to achieve a 70% take-rate!
Comments closedThe Charlemont installation subsidy for municipal broadband service will end on August 31, 2022. Each residence or business must be signed up during this subsidy period to qualify. Sign up now at whipcityfiber.com/charlemont or call Whip City Fiber at 413-485-1251.
Comments closedThe fiber towns of Charlemont, Colrain, Heath, Leyden, and Rowe – collectively known as the ‘Northern Ring’- have been awarded a $400,000 Massachusetts Community Compact Cabinet Municipal Fiber Grant to support building an interconnected ‘mesh’ network supporting multiple backhaul paths to significantly improve the resiliency of each participating town!
Comments closedThe Charlemont Broadband Committee’s goal has been to build a fiber network for the town that can be fully self-sustaining, with all costs of the network, including all debt, paid for from subscriber fees. The project is on track to do just that. The network is up and running, the finances look good, and it is expected to be fully self-sustaining. This $3.5 million investment in the town has been done with no increase to the tax rate.
Comments closedCharlemont has prepared a municipal fiber network hand-out for Annual Town Meeting. This highlights the August 31, 2022 installation subsidy deadline, discounts for qualified subscribers, project construction costs and projected operating budget, and plans for the future.
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