A Municipal Fiber to the Home Network for Charlemont Massacusetts
Sometimes called over-the-top television (OTT), the market for internet entertainment content is changing rapidly! Broadband Committee member, Mary Ellen Banks, follows these developments in the streaming television space closely. In this installment of her occasional series on the topic, Mary Ellen looks at low or no-cost TV programming options.
Comments closedCharlemont’s municipal fiber network requires a one-time installation to connect your home or business to the world-class gigabit internet service provided by our partners Whip City Fiber (WCF). The details of the exterior installation and its costs are different for each location. Charlemont is offering up to $1,400 in installation subsidies during the limited network construction period when you sign up for a year of service. Sign up today!
Comments closedCharlemont reaches a new milestone with 200 subscribers committed to taking service! If every current subscriber reaches out to one or two additional homes or businesses in town that have not yet signed up, our take-rate will meet or exceed the numbers needed to fully fund the project construction!
Comments closedBefore any homes or businesses can be connected, six steps to be completed to “light up” each of the five fiber service areas (FSAs) in town. For each FSA, our distribution contractor, TriWire, attaches strand, hangs fiber, places MSTs, splices all of the fiber-optic cables together, tests each fiber, and validates the whole unit before it is ready for installations to begin.
Comments closedWhip City Fiber and Charlemont’s Municipal Fiber Network, Charlemont Connect, will be hosting an online and dial-in virtual information session on March 16 at 7…
Comments closedCharlemont Municipal Fiber Network
Selectboard Status Report
March 7, 2021
Summary
Network construction is underway and the essential work in the village center has been completed to alleviate conflicts with the DOT traffic calming project, which will be resuming soon. The subscription website is operational and we are encouraging all residents to sign up so that WhipCityFiber can plan the installation schedule for the summer. There will be a virtual information session on March 16. Sign-ups are currently at 20%, mostly through word-of-mouth. The project remains on budget. WhipCityFiber is recommending a “safe” schedule with FSA01 (the first fiber service area) lighting up in July and the other FSAs following at two-month intervals. The town is working with WGE and TriWire to try to accelerate this schedule if possible. Currently, the lack of fiber splicing and testing crews seems to be the bottleneck.
Charlemont’s distribution network contractor, TriWire, has completed the FSA 01 river crossing to the east of the Long Bridge! This team accelerated our project buildout to complete the essential work in the village center ahead of the DOT traffic calming project through the snow and winds of February and early March. Because our network hub is in the center of the traffic calming area, completing this work was essential to provide service to every location in Charlemont.
Comments closedWhip City Fiber customers in Charlemont’s FSA 01 can expect installations beginning in July with the other FSAs (Fiber Service Areas) coming online in roughly 2-month intervals in the following order FSA 05, FSA 04, FSA 02, FSA 03. Residents and businesses should sign-up to schedule an installation and take advantage of the town subsidy of up to $1400 available through the network construction period. A sample board showing the equipment that will be installed to provide service is on display in the window of Avery’s Store and a virtual information session is planned to answer your questions.
Comments closedTriWire, our distribution construction team, has the fiber for each FSA running into our network equipment room ready to be connected to the installed optical equipment! Because our Network Equipment Hub is in the center of the traffic calming area, having the network backbone run through to the hub is another success for the project staying ahead of the Department of Transportation in the village center.
Comments closedWhip City Fiber and the Charlemont Broadband Committee will be hosting an online line and dial-in information session on March 16 at 7 PM.
Online: http://bit.ly/charlemontbroadband
Dial-in option: 1-617-865-3953, Conference ID: 275 768 645#
