A Municipal Fiber to the Home Network for Charlemont Massacusetts
Did you support Charlemont’s initial WiredWest effort to bring fiber to town with a $49 pre-subscription? If so, thank you! This early effort helped to estimate the expected take rate for the municipal fiber network and led to a $960,000 EOHED grant for network construction. Since Charlemont has selected Westfield Gas & Electric as our Internet Service Provider (ISP), WiredWest has been returning these deposits with interest to pre-subscribers from town.
Comments closedWestfield Gas and Electric (WG&E) is making good progress installing the racks and optical equipment for the network hub. To ensure that delays were avoided and our equipment was protected from damage, volunteer Trevor Mackie prepared the enclosure in advance of the installation by running a conduit through the Network Equipment Enclosure (NEE) to the electrical panel in the basement of the town hall. This conduit will be used for connecting the planned Emergency Management Department generator slated to provide backup power to the town hall and to the NEE.
Comments closedCharlemont Municipal Fiber Network
Selectboard Status Report
December 31, 2020
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.
Comments closedWondering how much it might cost to connect your home or business to the Charlemont Municipal Fiber Network in the new year? Charlemont Connect has a lookup tool available that will give you an estimate of these costs based on the current design and the subsidies outlined in our Drop Policy.
Comments closedThe installation of the core fiber management equipment that forms the heart of the Charlemont municipal fiber network has begun! Located in the network equipment enclosure in the town hall, the passive racks and optical equipment are being put in place by our partners at Westfield Gas & Electric (WG&E).
Comments closedWorking with Whip City Fiber, Charlemont’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), preparations are underway to launch the subscription campaign in the new year coordinated with the distribution network build. Everyone that has expressed interest will be notified as soon as the campaign is publicly available.
Comments closedA common question from potential subscribers is “Will you be offering TV?”. Whip City Fiber does not provide television programming but many customers will subscribe to one or more streaming services (YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.) for watching TV, movies, and sports over a broadband internet connection. Broadband Committee member, Mary Ellen Banks, follows developments in the streaming television space and has written this overview to help subscribers understand these offerings.
Comments closedRepresentatives from Charlemont Broadband and owner’s project manager, Westfield Gas & Electric, met with the selected contractor, TriWire, to kick off the distribution network build! Focusing initially on Charlemont’s railroad and river crossings, the team began with a ride out to assess potential challenges.
Comments closedWhip City Fiber (WCF), powered by our partner Westfield Gas and Electric (WG&E), has been selected as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for Charlemont’s municipal fiber network! With an ISP in place, Charlemont Connect is preparing the subscription campaign to sign up customers for service and drive the installation plan.
Comments closedDanek Excavating and Burke Electric have completed the path preparation make-ready on Warner Hill Road! Underground conduit and two utility poles have been installed on a section of the road to allow the municipal fiber network to bypass a difficult to maintain section of aerial utilities that provides electrical and phone service to residents through the town of Heath.
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