LEYDEN — As the town’s fiber-optic, high-speed broadband network continues to roll out, priority installations will be granted to families with students to help with their virtual learning needs.
Andy Killeen, chair of the town’s municipal light plant (MLP) and volunteer head of the town’s Broadband Department, said he and members of the Selectboard understand the pain students and adults working from home are feeling in this era of remote work. Killeen said they’re prioritizing connecting student family houses to the fiber-optic network as they deploy it for the first time.
“Students in Leyden have been struggling with the technical hurdle of connecting to remote learning, on top of all the other challenges they have faced during the COVID crises,” Killeen said. “The timing of the town’s high-speed internet services rollout gives us the opportunity to help these students when they need it most.”
Leyden is working with Whip City Fiber of Westfield (the internet service that’s powered by Westfield Gas & Electric), who Killeen said was very responsive to this request during these unprecedented times. When asked about the possibility of getting students to the head of the broadband hookup line to help with their remote learning needs, Killeen said Whip City Fiber took just five minutes to reply with a simple “Yes.”
The town’s first fiber-optic network customers “went live” in late September, and Killeen said more than three dozen households are now hooked up and receiving services, with more being connected each day. He estimated the whole town will be connected by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
“The world really changed in 2020,” Killeen said. “It’s not just students who have a crying need for faster internet.”
While the people of Leyden are eager to enjoy the fruits of this long-awaited project, Killeen said he has been impressed by the community’s support for getting students online as quickly as possible — even if it has meant that some households would have to forgo their spot in line and wait a little longer.
Leyden’s fiber-optic network is being deployed in three service areas. The first fiber service area was certified in late summer, with the second two coming online later this fall. Students in the first service area are eligible for connection immediately, while those in latter areas will be given installation priority once they become available.
In May 2017, the town was awarded the state’s Last Mile grant of $680,000. Then, in January 2020, the Federal Communications Commission authorized $10.2 million in funding for the internet service provider Westfield Gas & Electric to help expand fiber-based broadband to 12,400 households in 20 Western Massachusetts towns, including Leyden and nine other towns in Franklin County. Leyden received $250,000 over a 10-year period to put toward broadband expenses.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.