ASHFIELD — Pole surveys for the town’s long-awaited fiber optic broadband network could begin Monday, according to Town Administrator Kayce Warren. And if all goes well, residents could have high-speed internet service by mid-2018.
The town held an informational meeting this week to tell residents about the project’s start. Ashfield was among the first six pilot towns to be “fast-tracked” in the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s (MBI’s) Last Mile broadband buildout.
The state’s broadband institute has contracted Osmose Utility Services to conduct pole data collection of all utility-owned poles — a service required for designing a fiber-to-the-home network and applying for attachment licenses with pole owners.
According to David Kulp, chairman of the town’s Broadband Committee, the town’s plan is to construct its network using MBI to manage all stages of survey, design and construction. Contract negotiations with MBI regarding project oversight and a payment schedule is pending, and town officials believe the contract will be signed in October. The town (the Ashfield “Municipal Light Plant” or MLP) will manage it, while contracting with vendors for network operation, maintenance and an internet service provider.
How much Ashfield’s monthly internet service will cost depends on both the “take rate” of subscribers and on the cost of financing the town’s $2.3 million share for the $3.7 million project. A state technology grant is to pay $1.4 million for design, engineering and construction.
The Selectboard is to determine financing terms, but the average property tax increase could range between $54 to $181 per year.
A few years ago, the WiredWest town cooperative proposed a regionally constructed, managed network with a proposed minimum fee to broadband subscribers of $49 per month. Profits from this fee were to be used to reimburse member towns for their capital costs.
But information given to residents on Monday said: “WiredWest and MBI were unable to negotiate a cooperative plan” and that the regional co-op is currently “on hold.” At least 40 percent of town residents pre-subscribed to WiredWest service by putting down a $49 deposit, to be used for their first month of internet service, when it became available.
“Opportunities for regionalization and potential cost-savings remain, but for now the most expedient strategy is to proceed independently,” according to the Broadband Committee. “The WiredWest $49 deposit is escrowed and fully refundable. But we recommend waiting on reimbursement requests, should new developments arise.”
In the “best case” scenario, MBI will have a detailed network design completed for the town this winter. The “make ready” work — including pole remediation and pole licensing by the utilities that own the poles — would be completed this spring. MBI would begin construction in the spring, while the town would hire a network operator and Internet Service Provider. In the summer of 2017, a marketing campaign would begin for service subscriptions. The hope is that the network would be completed and service would begin in late 2017 or early 2018.