Charlemont Municipal Fiber Network
Selectboard Status Report
December 31, 2020
Summary
It has been a busy year. The town has completed most of the make-ready work for the network and we are poised to begin network construction in early 2021. Racks are being installed in the network equipment room and WGE as project manager is finalizing the build schedule with Triwire, our selected distribution contractor. The town’s subscription website at WhipCityFiber.com is nearly ready to launch. The project remains on budget and we are looking forward to commencing operations during 2021. One issue we are tracking closely is to coordinate work in the village center with the DOT traffic calming project – ideally, we would like to complete much of the network buildout in the village center before the traffic calming project resumes heavy work in the spring.
Progress in 2020
Since it is the end of 2020, I would like to reflect on the progress we made this year and to thank the broadband committee and others for making this possible. At the beginning of the year, we had a network design, but no “shovels in the ground” other than the network vault outside of the town hall. In 2020 we accomplished the following:
- Construction of the network equipment room by Obear Construction
- Utility make-ready, which began when National Grid mobilized in town in February. Rideouts were completed in the closing days of the year and a small remedial punch list is already being worked on.
- Installing new conduit on Heath Stage Terrace
- Installing new conduit and utility poles on Warner Hill Road
- Installing new utility poles on Tower Road
- Working with National Grid to have them install conduit for us on Ledge Lane
- Designing a railroad crossings at Long Bridge and Tower Road, railroad permitting, and installation of the National Grid and town utility poles to support the crossings
- Negotiating with National Grid for the installation of new utility poles on Hawk Hill Road (to be completed in 2021)
- Applying for and winning a USDA RBDG grant for $36,000 for hub electronics
- Finalizing an agreement with Heath to serve two homes on Center Heath Road
- Finalizing an agreement with Rowe to swap fiber to allow us to interconnect the towns and to reach homes on the upper end of Maxwell Road
- Selecting Triwire as our distribution network contractor
- Negotiating the ISP/NO contract and selecting WGE as our ISP and network operator
- Creating of an enterprise fund at town meeting and developing a sound operating budget
- Updating the Charlemont Connect website for community outreach and communication
- Preparing the website for our subscription kickoff with Whip City Fiber
Schedule
National Grid, Verizon and MBI all reported their make-ready work as complete by early December. Following what has become a standard practice in town fiber builds, the utility companies and WGE did rideouts to check for any remaining issues before Triwire is mobilized to begin network construction. A small punch list of make-ready issues were identified and the utilities are working to correct them.
WGE is working with Triwire to establish a detailed build schedule for the five fiber service areas (FSAs) in town. We hope to kick off construction on the network as soon as possible in 2021. We expect the first FSA to take 3-4 months to come online; subsequent FSAs should follow at 2-3 month intervals.
One important goal is to try to complete key portions of the network construction in the village center before the traffic calming work begins again in the spring. We believe that avoiding having Triwire and DOT both working in the village simultaneously will help prevent congestion and scheduling delays.
Utility make-ready work
The final reports from the utility rideouts and WGE were compiled this week. There is a small punch list of issues that need to be remediated, some by National Grid, some by Verizon and some by MBI. National Grid crews have already begun work on their items.
Budget and financing
The project remains on budget.
The town issued a state house note in November for $500,000 to cover anticipated expenses through the beginning of network construction. We anticipate further borrowing in early 2021 as construction gets underway. Once all make-ready is complete, we will go through a true-up process with the state and apply for additional make-ready funding from the last-mile contingency fund. These funds will be used to help pay for network construction.
The town applied for and has been awarded a USDA Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) for $36,000 to be applied towards the network electronics in the town hall basement. Procurement for these electronics is in process and we expect to collect the grant proceeds in early 2021. The town’s application for a Community Compact IT grant was rejected.
An expense tracking report is available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fCNbG1LhtSQOZgOgG__0_zSbGS8ftWbH/view?usp=sharing
A spreadsheet showing our current cash flow projections for FY21/FY22 is available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QwfYpDjIEJ1ZMKbWMvxv7I4z9V6LzxGz/view?usp=sharing
Path Preparation Projects
Most of the preparation for the distribution network consists of make-ready work by the utilities. There are several places in town where special path preparation projects were needed. These projects are mostly complete and we do not expect them to impact the build schedule.
- Heath Stage Terrace
- Installation of underground conduit and pedestals to serve Heath Stage Terrace was completed in 2020.
- Tower Road (west end)
- Installation of 8 town-owned utility poles along the west end of Tower Road to connect existing utility lines was completed in 2020.
- Warner Hill Road
- Installation of conduit and two new utility poles on Warner Hill Road was completed in 2020.
- Heath Stage Terrace
- The Heath Stage Terrace path preparation project has been completed. Crews managed by TriWire came in and completed the job in just a few days.
- Hawk Hill Road
- National Grid will be upgrading a half-mile section of the lower end of Hawk Hill Road, which currently has underground utilities, to overhead utilities along the road. National Grid has advised us that this work will be completed until spring (after mud season), due to scheduling issues. At this time, we do not believe this will negatively impact the network build schedule.
- RR Crossings (Long Bridge and Tower Road)
- Both railroad crossings have received approval from PanAm Railways. Our distribution contractor, Triwire, will work with the railroad to install conduit and cabling across the tracks.
- South River Road
- The town licensed twenty Verizon-only utility poles on South River Road. The town needs to perform tree trimming along this section and we expect to have Niles Tree Service do this work in January.
Other Ongoing Projects
- Town Hall Exterior
- Danek Excavating completed most of the restoration work around the town hall, with the exception of repairing the walkway in front of the town hall. We expect that to be fixed in the spring.
- Town Hall Interior (network equipment room)
- WGE has begun installing network racks in the network equipment room in the basement of the town hall. We are working with the fire chief on running conduit for the new town hall generator through the equipment room. WGE will be installing the network electronics once the racks and conduit are completed.
- West Hawley Road
- There is one house on West Hawley Road where the utilities reach the house via a non-public-way railroad crossing. We are currently evaluating alternative solutions for this house, including a potential wireless extension of the distribution network.
ISP and Network Operator
The town signed an agreement with WGE (operating as Whip City Fiber) to be the town’s ISP and network operator for three years. We have been working with WGE to set up the website for customer signups. We expect signups to go live in early 2021, in concert with having a detailed build schedule.
Operational Accounting and Budget
In November, Town Meeting approved the creation of an Enterprise Fund to support the operating accounting and budget for the network. The operating budget is separate from the construction budget. The network will “commence operations” when the first subscribers complete beta-testing and begin to be charged for service. Depending on the build schedule, this may happen late in FY21 or in FY22. For the first year, the town adopted an estimated placeholder budget based on just a couple of months of operation with a small number of subscribers.
A copy of the adopted budget for FY21 is available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11UeZxkyyGndDxTuNpFSfxCshmsIAoe18/view?usp=sharing
During the first year of operations, certain start-up (“establishment”) expenses will be paid out of the construction budget. In future years, these will appear as operating expenses. A more realistic projection for future operating budgets is attached to the FY21 operating budget referenced above.
Charlemont Connect website
We continue to communicate project status from our website www.charlemontconnect.org, dedicated to the fiber network project. We are posting to this website regularly to communicate status and engage with residents. There is also a mailing list signup for email notifications.
Glossary
Aerial License Agreement. The master contracts between the town and the utilities (separate contracts for National Grid and Verizon) covering the terms for leasing space on the utility poles.
Customer Connections / Drops. Cabling from the nearest distribution network tap (MST) to a network interface box on the outside of the house or building, then inside to another small unit (ONT) which is connected to a wireless (or optionally non-wireless) router that provides internet service. A “cold drop” includes just the cabling to the outside of the house without any inside wiring.
Distribution Network. The main fiber optic lines running from the network equipment room in the basement of the town hall and along most of the roads in town. The distribution network terminates at “taps” (called MSTs) located on utility poles near each serviceable house or structure.
ISP / Internet Service Provider. A company that provides internet service on a network and performs functions like billing and customer support. The town will contract with a third-party internet service provider to provide service to residents using the town network.
Make-Ready Work. This is work to prepare a “path” for the distribution network to run throughout the town. Most of this work is done by the utilities (National Grid and Verizon) to make space on existing utility poles. In some cases, the town may perform make-ready work by installing new underground conduit (e.g. near the town hall or on Hawk Hill Road) or new utility poles (e.g. on the west end of Tower Road) to create a cost-effective path for the distribution network.
MLP / Municipal Lighting Plant. A legal entity created by the town to allow the town to supply internet service to residents. It is called a lighting plant because the applicable state laws were originally written to allow towns to create local electric utilities. The MLP functions much like a town department.
Utility Pole Lease. The town will lease 12 inches of space on most of the utility poles in town to allow us to run the fiber network throughout the town. We will pay an annual lease fee per pole.