John Dullaghan, the government relations strategist for GoNetSpeed, presents plans for connecting Indian Orchard residents to their internet service. The Springfield City Council ultimately delayed approval of these plans.
Photo credit: Focus Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — Twenty-seven GoNetSpeed installations inside the Indian Orchard neighborhood will have to wait at least another few weeks after the City Council voted to hold off on them for a second time.
First introduced over the summer, the projects would connect neighborhoods down the Boston Road and Parker Street corridors to the internet service provider, according to John Dullaghan, the government relations strategist for GoNetSpeed.
But after delaying the execution of these installations in July, the council once again decided to delay a vote on the projects during its Sept. 15 meeting, citing concerns that the company could leave some of the poorer neighborhoods in Springfield behind as they continue their buildout in the city.
“There are neighborhoods in the city that could benefit more from high internet speed,” At Large City Councilor Tracye Whitfield said.
At the September meeting, Dullaghan said the Indian Orchard installations — which will cost around $50 million — are just one phase of GoNetSpeed’s multi-phase buildout plan for the city. The company was not hired by Springfield and is instead working independently with the pole owners on the build-out phase, which includes the installation of fiber optic cables between poles and underground conduits after.
As of press time, GoNetSpeed has a presence in nine states, and will soon have stakes in 11. There are some instances where the company has built out entire communities and some where they have only built out certain neighborhoods.
Dullaghan said GoNetSpeed already has active service in Springfield, and if these 27 petitions were approved, the company would be able to connect 10,000 more homes to their services.
He also shared that GoNetSpeed is committed to building out the whole city, but they want to start in areas where it is easier to do the work because the impact of construction is very small.
“They’re choosing the east side of Springfield because it’s the quickest area to start working,” said Hector Velez, a DPW representative who deals with Traffic Commission and Board of Public Work issues in the city. “Downtown area is more complicated because they have to open roads.”
Despite GoNetSpeed’s promises, some councilors were still dubious about the company’s plans, especially since there is no legal agreement that says GoNetSpeed will build out the whole city.
At Large City Councilor Jose Delgado, chair of the city’s Working Group on Digital Equity, said in the past that he is not against the idea of GoNetSpeed bringing their resources into the city, but he wants to make sure no one is left behind, and no one company is monopolizing the city’s resources without further scrutiny.
He has told Reminder Publishing in the past that he would like to see a request for proposals process that invites competition for a high-speed fiber option within the city.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Delgado said during the Sept. 15 meeting, referring to GoNetSpeed’s plans. “I don’t want to vote on anything unless you’re making a commitment to build out the whole city … and they don’t have anything requiring them to build out the whole city.”
Several minutes after Delgado’s comments, At Large City Councilor Sean Curran explicitly asked Dullaghan if GoNetSpeed has any written agreement that says they specifically plan to build out the entire city of Springfield. Dullaghan responded by saying they do not, but he would ask his contemporaries at GoNetSpeed and see if there is an appetite for it.
“I think that’s a major sticking point to this,” Curran said. “If you’re willing to memorialize that in writing, I think that would really put these meetings to rest.”
Ward 4 City Councilor Malo Brown expressed concerns about the pricing they offer along with GoNetSpeed’s tendency to use analytics when determining where to put their services.
“I kind of just [see] red flags all over,” Brown said. “I would still like to see … if they will make a 100% commitment to the city.”
Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Govan, who represents Indian Orchard, said a lot of the residents she talks to shared that GoNetSpeed’s price is less than half to what Comcast charges.
She added that she supports the 27 petitions because she looks forward to residents having other options outside of Comcast in the city.
“I’m ready to vote yes on this today because there are apparently 10,000 customers that are waiting and ready to switch from Comcast to GoNetSpeed because here in Springfield, we don’t have Charter or the other internet providers that I know of,” Govan said.
City Council President Michael Fenton had concerns about the specifics of GoNetSpeed’s buildout plans in the Indian Orchard neighborhood. He specifically pointed to vagueness in some of the plans.
He also supported the motion to continue the discussion in a few weeks.
“I’m concerned about some of the lack of specificity in the plans,” Fenton said. “I’m in full support of the motion to continue. I think there’s a lot of appropriate concerns that have been raised, but the thing that bothers me the most about this is the lack of precision in the plans and in the drawings.”
The council ultimately voted 11-2 in favor of continuing the vote until its October meeting. Only Govan and Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce voted against the motion to continue.
