FAQ

From the Mayor's Facebook post on June 18 at 10:35 AM:

I submitted a proposal to the Council this week for their approval at this coming Monday’s (June 21st) meeting to bring Municipal Fiber to our community! Much like Westfield we’ll be rolling fiber out first in four test areas then, if all goes well with signups, throughout the rest of Town using a signup survey to identify areas with the most interest. If we are successful on Monday then Whip City will begin “make ready” work this summer and begin hanging fiber later this year. If the pilot area is successful we’ll work to build out the whole community over the next five years. Let me know if you have any questions!

Watch Mayor Reichelt's presentation here.

Whip City Fiber will be the internet service provider for West Springfield. It is owned and operated by Westfield Gas + Electric in Westfield, Massachusetts. West Springfield has chosen to work with Whip City Fiber because, as a municipal utility, they are driven to provide best services at reasonable prices for subscribers, rather than earning high profits for investors. Whip City Fiber has been in operation since 2015 and is successfully serving the customers of Westfield and 19 other towns. Their knowledge and experience with engineering high-speed internet is a substantial benefit for West Springfield. Joining their network will provide access to their exceptional customer service and tech support teams. By joining the Whip City Fiber network, we benefit West Springfield subscribers and keep costs low.

Whip City Fiber runs on a data network that is constructed of optical fibers instead of the traditional copper wire or coaxial cable. Optical fiber is a hair-thin piece of glass that is specially designed to transmit light impulses. One small fiber can carry multiple signals at once and the signal does not degrade over long distances. Unlike coaxial cable, performance is not affected by interference or shared bandwidth. The fiber-optic network provides high-speed access that runs at the speed of light. Each year the use of the Internet for applications and services is increasing. As high-definition video, telemedicine, distance learning, telecommuting, and other applications continue to evolve, only fiber technology provides the bandwidth to carry the heavy data load we expect to see. We're excited that West Springfield can take advantage of this cutting-edge access, which will support our community into the future.

We are very excited for this project to get underway. Make-ready and construction work will begin later this year. There are four areas in the pilot area. We expect to begin installations in these areas in 2024. Depending on take rates and our ability to pay for the project costs, we anticipate a build out to all of town over five years.