A Municipal Fiber to the Home Network for Charlemont Massacusetts
Whip 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.
Comments closedOn November 10, the town received the proceeds from issuing a state house note to finance the construction of the distribution network. If the town achieves a sufficient “take-rate”, above 70%, Charlemont expects to be able to pay for all debt service from the monthly internet charges.
Comments closedThe Town of Charlemont will hold a Special Town Meeting at Hawlemont Regional Elementary School on Saturday, November 14, 2020, at 6 PM. There are two warrant articles related to the municipal fiber network before voters to set up the accounting structure. In preparation for this meeting, you will find, attached, an overview of the status of the network and an expanded proforma budget for network operations.
Comments closedFinishing roughly seven weeks ahead of schedule, Verizon has now licensed the use of the utility poles on all seventeen applications to Charlemont’s municipal network! This completion accelerates the next steps in the process: the inspection and remediation of the make-ready work and the relocation of the state’s MBI 1-2-3 middle-mile network fiber.
Comments closedCharlemont Fiber Network Status – Nov 5, 2020
Charlemont’s Municipal Fiber Network will become a reality in 2021 as residents get connected and receive service. A lot of the construction work is already complete, although this progress is not always visible. The Select Board and Broadband Committee are trying to accelerate the schedule as much as possible to help residents cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The project remains on budget and there are no major problems.
The Broadband Committee is working on multiple work-streams simultaneously to ensure the project continues without blockers. This work can be grouped under network build-out and administration.
Regular project updates are posted at www.charlemontconnect.org and on the CharlemontFiber Facebook page.
Comments closedThere will be two broadband warrant articles before voters at Charlemont’s Special Town Meeting on Saturday, November 14th at 6 PM at Hawlemont Regional Elementary School. The first will be to form an Enterprise Fund for the municipal fiber network operations and the second is a placeholder operating budget for the service for fiscal year 2021. Neither warrant article will have an impact on the town tax rate.
Comments closedNiles Tree Service has completed the tree trimming needed to wrap up the make-ready path preparation on the west end of Tower Rd! Working with our partners, Westfield Gas & Electric, Charlemont has set new utility poles to provide a fiber path that avoids a costly railroad crossing.
Comments closedCharlemont Municipal Fiber Network
Select Board Status Report
November 1, 2020
Summary
Verizon has now approved 14 licenses (out of 17), with just a few poles left on the other applications. This remains the main schedule driver. We will start the construction of the distribution network as soon as possible; our conservative estimate is April 1, 2021. We have completed all path preparation projects except Warner Hill Road, which should be complete in November. Construction of the network equipment room is complete; electronics could start being installed later this year. The project remains on budget. The first tranche of town borrowing for $500,000 is expected to close on November 10, 2020.
Verizon make-ready continues to move forward with thirteen of seventeen applications returned as complete! The Charlemont Broadband Committee and the Charlemont Highway Department are working to remove identified barriers to completion in the remaining application areas.
Comments closed
