In the afternoon of Tuesday May 8th, I attended a broadband meeting hosted by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the Crowne Plaza in Pittsfield, MA. The operator of MBI’s backbone, Axia, was also present. Numerous representatives were invited to the meeting, including municipalities, public safety, internet providers, health and medical, state and local libraries, etc. MBI and Axia hosted a three hour meeting, including presentation and question/answer periods.

This was mostly intended to be an informational meeting, which summarized most of the basics that I have written about in previous broadband articles. However, there were some important facts and updates, some pertaining directly to Alford…

• MBI owns the fiber backbone that is being constructed, G4S is building out the physical network, and once it is completed Axia will be operating the network and providing services at fixed bulk pricing to internet providers, etc. The MBI’s pole, environmental and route-change surveys are complete, cost and time prevents any further changes to the plans. So far, 27 miles of fiber have been completed, out of approximately 1300 miles required for the entire MBI backbone project.
• Alford is in “Build Phase 2” in MBI’s build-out plan, however Phase 2 is already underway because the utility poles in our area were surveyed and licensed sooner than in the other areas. G4S has already run feeder cable in Alford, and the fiber network boxes have already been installed at our CAIs (community access institutions, our town hall and firehouse). The last steps to complete Alford’s fiber backbone (a) require the actual fiber backbone to be run to our CAIs and (b) and the fiber to be “lit up” and activated by Axia.
• Once MBI’s fiber backbone is lit up and ready for use, potential last-mile providers (such as WiredWest, WiSpring, etc) will then be able to expand and work off from the fiber backbone in order to eventually provide us with services. The MBI backbone must be completed by June 2013 in order to meet their financial deadlines, however it could be another year or two before we have last-mile providers extending service in Alford. So, the current estimated year of availability is 2015.

Town Meeting Follow-Up

On the evening of Tuesday May 8th at Alford’s annual town meeting, the second vote to approve the MLP (Article 13) was passed, with 54 yes votes and 1 no vote. The next part of the process involves submitting all of the proper paperwork to the state to create Alford’s MLP on paper. Once that step is completed, we will be able to officially join WiredWest as a member town, who may be acting as our middle-mile manager to help provide us with last-mile services.

The Alford Broadband Committee’s work is far from over. We will continue to meet and discuss additional options concerning expansion, open-provider selection, financing that may help to expand existing and future services, etc. For example, our town may qualify for additional RFP grants from the US Department Of Agriculture to help with funding more broadband solutions. Our committee is dedicated to seeking as well as assisting the best possible broadband options for our town. We will keep you posted from time to time on our overall progress.

Sincerely,
The Alford Broadband Committee

Background to Article 13 of the Alford Town Warrant

At the May 2011 Alford Town Meeting, voters approved an article that authorized Alford to establish a Municipal Lighting Plant (MLP). This was the first of two required steps for our town to join WiredWest, a planned cooperative that will provide fiber-optic-based broadband Internet infrastructure to more than 40 towns in western and central Massachusetts that currently lack full Internet service. WiredWest’s network would link to State- and Federal-funded Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) fiber-optic cabling, which is bringing fiber-optic connections to anchor points in each designated town. In Alford’s case, those points would be the Town office and the Fire Department. MBI connections to Alford are currently under way.

The second required step is approval of the same article again, which appears as Article 13 on the 2012 Alford Town warrant. Approval of the article does not obligate Alford to join WiredWest. If Alford does choose to join the cooperative, the Town must pay WiredWest a one-time membership fee of $1,000.

The establishment of WiredWest as a way to bring truly high-speed Internet capability to the region arose from the lack of interest from the two large service providers, Verizon and Time Warner Cable (the “incumbents”) in offering service, because the small rural subscriber base will not provide what they feel is an adequate return on investment. At the same time, Alford has benefited from wireless Internet service provided by the local service provider, WiSpring. However, because of the limits of currently available technology, wireless speeds are limited and do not meet the needs of many users, especially as the Internet rapidly expands to carry more video, voice, and data. Also, the topography of Alford limits the wireless signal in some areas. An alternative service would thus benefit those Alford residents who cannot currently receive WiSpring’s signal.

Since the May 2011 vote, the Alford Broadband Committee, an informal group of town residents, has been exploring the implications of the WiredWest possibility, as well as other alternatives. While WiredWest has been aggressively promoting its case, the Committee has some reservations about aspects of WiredWest’s plans, including financing, timetable, breadth and types of service, and the implications of creating and managing a MLP. The Committee is especially concerned about the lack of a long-promised business plan that would lay out anticipated costs, sources and types of financing, and revenue projections required to sustain the system. At the Committee’s request, the Alford Select Board asked WiredWest for a copy of its business plan before the Town Meeting vote, or at least a clear understanding of the business model, financing possibilities, and other operational, financial, and technical questions.

In summary, WiredWest’s responses were as follows:

• Sources and types of financing are still being explored. Towns are not expected at this time to underwrite or contribute to the costs of building service to end users (“last-mile” service), or to guarantee any financing. WiredWest may seek loan or bond guarantees from the Commonwealth or from the Federal government.
• WiredWest can, but for now has no plans to, charge towns an annual membership fee.
• How the last-mile service provider will be determined is not yet resolved, but the system will not be open access; that is, it will not be open for any service provider to offer service. Possibilities under consideration so far include a single service provider who would have a monopoly for a period of time, or WiredWest itself being the service provider. Member towns, which will have a vote in deciding on the service provider, will be obliged to accept WiredWest’s selection.
• Membership in WiredWest does not obligate member towns to contract with WiredWest, but membership does not guarantee that any town will indeed be wired. Towns will be required to guarantee a minimum number of subscribers in order to be provided service. This requirement is analogous to that of the “incumbents.” The minimum number has not yet been determined, but may be in the 40 to 50 percent region.
• WiredWest’s business plan is still being developed. All the financial, engineering and market analysis data—presumably including pricing models—required to determine the financial viability of the project are not expected to be completed until July or August. However, towns that do not join WiredWest by July 1, 2012, will not be wired. They will be considered for future expansion in an estimated three to five years.
• By voting to approve the MLP the town makes no legal or financial commitments other than to pay WiredWest a one time, non-refundable $1,000 fee. If Alford does not choose to join WiredWest, they will not provide services to residents or businesses in Alford.
• WiredWest is assuming that financing will be obtained by the end of September, only slightly after completion of their financial viability determination. Preliminary, “make-ready” work is expected to take a year thereafter, and final construction about an additional six months. This would bring project completion into 2014. However, not all towns will be wired at the same time, so it is not clear when Alford, with its low population, would have service.

While WiredWest represents one possibility, the Alford Broadband Committee has begun to explore other avenues. One alternative is for Alford to establish its own system. Mt. Washington is pursuing this concept and has developed a preliminary but detailed business plan to bring fiber to every home. The Committee has been in conversation with its counterparts in Mt. Washington, who are happy to give Alford the benefit of their experience. Other towns in Western and Central Massachusetts have also done this. However, it should be noted that every town is different, so that what may work in one town may not be appropriate for another.

Another alternative is to revisit the wireless approach. Equipment is under development that could yield higher speeds and capacity and be less hindered by foliage, and the basic signal could be obtained from the MBI system. This approach will definitely be less expensive and undoubtedly could be completed more quickly, especially given the uncertainty of WiredWest’s timetable. The Committee is in touch with WiSpring to determine the feasibility of this route.

Sincerely,

The Alford Broadband Committee

April 16, 2012

WiredWest is continuing to work diligently to bring 21st century internet to our doorstep.

2011 was a productive year, with highlights being the official formation of the WiredWest Cooperative by 22 member towns; incorporation with the Commonwealth; development of key financial documents; and the award of two grants to complete critical work for the business plan. You can read about all the milestones of 2011 here.

Several new member towns have passed the required votes and joined the Cooperative in 2012, bringing our current member towns to 29. Two new towns, Tolland and Royalston, were also approved to join WiredWest, which brings the number of additional towns working on completing the governance requirements for membership to 17. We expect most of those towns to join after the 2012 town meeting season. You can check the current progress of towns on the WiredWest participating towns map.

WiredWest recently received a grant from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to assist with legal work and contracts. A detailed project plan has been developed and significant progress is being made on engineering and mapping, with over $135,000 in pro bono work being completed by volunteers over the past several months. All of WiredWest’s towns’ utility poles, structures and roads are now digitally mapped, providing pertinent information for the engineers. An RFI for engineering work was issued; respondents evaluated; and an RFP for specific engineering tasks is being finalized.

Much of our current efforts are focused on the WiredWest business plan, which we expect to be complete in early June. One critical task for the plan is a comprehensive market survey that provides detailed pricing and market segmentation information. WiredWest has selected a qualified Northampton firm to implement the survey – however – we are working on finalizing the funding required. As with all of our work thus far, our progress is very much reliant upon grants, donations of in-kind services and funds, and significant volunteer efforts.

Will you benefit from the buildout of the WiredWest network? If so, we hope you will help us reach our goal of raising $22,000 to underwrite the market survey. We have raised $13,500 so far. Donations are tax deductible, done through Hilltown Community Development Corporation. You can donate online via PayPal , or checks can be made out to Hilltown CDC and sent to:

Hilltown CDC
PO Box 17
387 Main Road
Chesterfield, Massachusetts 01012
Re: WiredWest

About WiredWest:

WiredWest is a community organization with the mission of designing, building and operating a last-mile, community-owned, fiber-optic network in member towns that offers comprehensive, affordable and reliable internet, phone and television services to residents, businesses and institutions who want service.

A video compilation of legislators, businesspeople, educators, students and professionals talking about the proposed WiredWest network is available for online viewing here.

Alford has some broadband service, but we are still lacking complete coverage. Thanks to the residents who kindly participated in this year’s Alford Broadband Survey, I can give you a more accurate representation of the internet services that are currently available to our residents. I will discuss residential services from fastest to slowest, and will note the availability of each…

Fiber

Also known as fiber-optic, this is the fastest form of internet service available. (Some people incorrectly refer to it as FiOS, which in fact is a specific form of fiber-optic service offered only by Verizon in certain metro areas.) Fiber is not currently available in Alford, but the Alford Broadband Committee is working on it.

Cable

Alford does not have Cable internet or television service. Once fiber has been established, similar but faster services will be provided via fiber-optic cables in place of the older copper-based Cable technologies.

DSL

According to our 2012 Broadband Survey, there are 15 fortunate residences in Alford that get Verizon’s DSL service. This service is limited to Route 71 (a.k.a. Green River Valley Rd), and offers sparse availability to Crooked Hill Rd, Dellea Rd, Green River Rd, Riverside Farm Rd, and Whites Hill Rd. This DSL service overflows from North Egremont, and is not technically hosted in Alford. Verizon has no plans of propagating or expanding DSL service in our town.

WiSpring

WiSpring is a line-of-sight wireless internet service (a.k.a. WISP). Our Broadband Committee worked hard to help establish tower placements for this service in Alford over five years ago. The connection speeds for this service are similar to DSL, and the installation process is similar to that of satellite internet, but it is not slow or weather-dependent like satellite internet. This service covers approximately 85% of Alford. From the Broadband Survey, it appears that some residents on the northern ends of East Rd and West Rd (and a few others) lack the line-of-sight to currently get this service.

Cellular

Verizon is the primary cellular provider for our state, but Alford does not host any cell towers. We generally get a “skip signal” from surrounding towns which tends to be unreliable. Residents at higher elevations may be able to get consistent cellular service from other towns, the best way to test consistency in your own home is with a regular cell phone. If you get consistent cellular phone service, you could get Verizon Wireless internet service for your residence. They have mobile hotspots for multiple computers, USB modems for single computer connections, and other home services. Other cellular internet providers may work on Verizon’s towers as well.

Satellite

Satellite internet was the primary high-speed internet service in Alford before the arrival of WiSpring. Satellite internet is offered by HughesNet and ViaSat (who bought out WildBlue). It is of course weather-dependent, and signal is regularly lost in inclement weather conditions. Also, satellite internet is regarded by some to not be true high-speed internet service due to its long “ping delays” (a.k.a. data packet latencies) which prevents it from being used for effective audio and video streaming, gaming, etc. However, satellite internet may be your only option if you cannot get WiSpring or other services in Alford from your residence. Note that residents along West Rd in Alford, as well as other parts of town, have difficulty getting satellite service, as it requires a clear view of the southwestern sky from any given residence.

Dial-Up

There are local and national dial-up providers, too many to bother listing here, and they can often be found in the local yellow pages. Dial-up is of course the slowest and most obsolete form of internet service, but is obviously available throughout 100% of Alford to anyone who has a regular old copper phone line from Verizon telephone.

Last But Not Least… Experience The Town Hall Hot Spot

For those of you who cannot get any high-speed internet service in your home, the Alford Town Hall has a free Wifi Hot Spot, which anyone can access with a wireless laptop, netbook, tablet, Wifi-capable phone and other Wifi devices. This hot spot is powered by WiSpring, and offers a convenient public internet location so that you don’t have to drive all the way into neighboring towns to get quick, free internet access.

In Summary

The Alford Broadband Committee will keep you posted on the latest broadband news here on Alford’s web site.  You can visit the MBI and WiredWest sites for regional broadband news as well.

Sincerely, Arthur Dellea
Alford Broadband Representative

The Alford Broadband Committee has recently been asked some serious questions by fellow residents, and here are the best answers that we can provide at the current time…

1) Can you guess when the fiber will reach Alford?

The MBI fiber-optic backbone in to Alford should be completed by June 2013. It will take some time after that to solicit bids from potential Internet service providers (ISPs) to agree on a contract, and of course to complete the installation to all the homes that want service. Making a realistic estimate is very difficult, but it could take more than a year for the project to be well under way after the backbone is complete. We will have a better idea of the estimated time as we move along the process.

2) Who will be the last mile provider in Alford?

The MBI (along with the network manager, Axia) has been building a list of potential ISPs who are interested in delivering last-mile services from the backbone. As of the last MBI phone conference, there were 20 ISPs; among these are WiSpring, which already provides service to much of Alford; Richmond Networks, which provides service to the Town office; and the planned municipally owned network, WiredWest, We are still unsure of WiredWest’s status, financing, and viability. We have submitted a series of questions to WiredWest and are awaiting their responses. Our preference is to be able to choose among multiple last-mile providers. These would probably include WiSpring as well as at least one fiber provider, to attempt to give Alford 100% service coverage. The MBI has also stated since its inception that most of our towns will most likely have a mixed fiber and wireless solution to reach 100% high-speed coverage of their residents, but that fiber will be the key to getting there.

3) Will the cost be subsidized in some manner? Will the town be asked to float a bond or to support cost of this capital improvement in some manner?

At this point, although there will likely be some town investment to complete the project, we are unsure of the extent. Much depends on what the last-mile service providers initially offer, but we have had no contact with them yet and thus can make no definitive statements. For example, Wired West has not stated how they will finance their network, although the prospect of a bond issue has been suggested. While the role of the towns in that process is not clear, we do not want Alford to be put at financial risk. We are awaiting answers from Wired West before we recommend town approval at the May Town Meeting.

Alternatively, if the town were to build out its own network and deal directly with last-mile providers, the town of course would have to come up with the funding. We are at the beginning stages of exploring what models might be developed–grants, loans, public-private partnerships, for example. We’ve learned that at least one other town, Mount Washington, is exploring building out its own network, and we are planning to meet with their broadband committee to see how they’re going about it. All in all, while there are alternatives at this point, the town undoubtedly will have to make some investment at some time in order to get broadband to its residents.

4) Can you guess what the household cost may be?

At this stage it is impossible to estimate the cost to each resident to get service to their homes. This will mostly depend on who the last-mile providers will be, what they will offer when the town bids out the project, and the size of the customer base. However, our objective remains the establishment of high-speed, reliable broadband Internet service to Alford’s residents at affordable costs. From discussions over the past few years we would shoot for a one-time installation cost of no more than about $300, and about $130 per month for a triple-play package (Internet, telephone, and television). However, note that these are very rough estimates, and again will depend upon what deals are offered by last-mile providers and the total number of subscribers.

Thank You!

We appreciate your interest and your questions, and we’ll continue to post updates on the town site when news becomes available.

Sincerely, The Alford Broadband Committee