ASHFIELD — Ashfield could become the second town in Franklin County to build its own fiber-optic broadband network.
According to Technology Committee Chairman David Kulp, the town’s Selectboard and Technology Committee agreed to begin steps to set up an independent network, instead of waiting for the state broadband agency and officials of the WiredWest collaborative to resolve issues regarding infrastructure ownership of a regional network that falls under the WiredWest umbrella.
“The proposal is for the town to work directly with the MBI (Massachusetts Broadband Institute) to construct the network in which Ashfield funds two-thirds of the capital cost,” says the Ashfield New monthly newspaper, which is edited by David Kulp, chairman of the town’s Technology Committee and the town’s WiredWest delegate.
Under this model, which is similar to Leverett’s, the network would be owned and managed by the town’s Municipal Light Plant entity, with vendors to be contracted to provide network management, Internet service, billing and customer service. The article says a draft plan for network operation has already been sent to MBI, the agency that is to oversee the build-out of a regional “last-mile” broadband network for unserved towns. Also, the MBI is to allocate $40 million in state bond money for construction of a fiber-optic network in dozens of unserved towns.
Kulp said the town has recently applied to MBI for a $5,000 planning grant.
In January, Selectboard member Ron Coler and other residents met with Leverett MLP officials to learn how that town’s broadband system was built, managed and financed.
“We’re tired of waiting (for broadband),” Coler said. “We’re tired of waiting for everyone else. But, to my knowledge, this doesn’t preclude our getting together with other regional networks, including WiredWest.”
“We’re trying to take control of our destiny,” Coler added. “Every year that goes by is a lost or missed opportunity.”
When asked if the town has given up on being part of the WiredWest collaborative, Kulp said: “We’re working on exploring all our options.”
“Speaking for myself,” he continued, “I would like to see a regional solution, but all of our (WiredWest) towns are investigating their options,” he said. “We’d like to see a regional agreement, but if it doesn’t happen, we want to make sure that something does.”
Last September, Ashfield special town meeting voters agreed to approve $2.3 million in spending for the town’s share of a $3.7 million fiber-optic network, with the state technology bond bill to pay about $1.4 million toward the town buildout.
Since December, WiredWest, the regional collaborative formed by western Massachusetts towns without broadband access, has been working with MBI to resolve differences regarding ownership of the broadband infrastructure and a contract terms for member towns.