ASHFIELD — The town has signed a $1.1 million contract for construction of a fiber optic network, with the work to start in April, if the make-ready work and pole replacements from utility companies are complete.
Infinigy Solutions LLC was hired to build the town’s fiber optic network. Infinigy will be attaching fiber optic cables to utility poles, and terminating them at the Belding Library, according to MLP (Municipal Lighting Plant) Manager David Kulp. Once begun, most of the construction should take about six months, he said.
The contract includes extensions that will serve Buckland residents in the Apple Valley area, who are not covered under Buckland’s contract with Comcast Cable. These residents live on West Brown, South Cemetery and Norman Roads. Construction for the fiber optic network extension to these Buckland residents is expected to cost $21,700, with Buckland to pay those costs. Also, the make-ready work for that region is expected to cost $19,000.
The Infinigy contract does not include the connections to individual homes and businesses; however, the Selectboard is using a $989,000 grant from the Federal Communications Commission to help offset homeowners’ and subscribers’ costs for those connections. Residents who sign up for a year of broadband service by June 1 will get a $3,000 subsidy for that “drop cost” connection. As reported by Kulp in Ashfield News, that subsidy essentially means that the door-to-curb connection would be essentially free for about 89 percent of the town’s 922 premises. For the other 11 percent (about 98 homes), the cost will range from $23 to $9,000 — depending on the length of the driveway or underground trenching. Also, homes on private roadways may pool their money for shared infrastructure.