WILBRAHAM — Wilbraham first began exploring alternatives to existing commercial internet options in late 2012. By 2014, voters had approved the creation of a Municipal Light Plant, a structure required to operate town-owned utilities under state law. Ten years later, Wilbraham does not yet have a municipally owned broadband internet network, but that might be changing.
“Good things come to those who wait,” assured Wilbraham Broadband Advisory Committee Chair Tom Newton. He acknowledged that the committee has not been successful in educating the public on the project’s status. “People still think that it will be a tax-funded project. We’re trying to do anything but that,” Newton said. The construction costs would be borne by customers who opt into the system, similar to how commercial ISPs build their network improvement costs into their prices.
Town Administrator Nick Breault said the town had been considering contracts with potentially different vendors to design the system and build it but has since changed course. It is currently seeking a vendor to complete a “design-build” process, in which a single vendor will provide the fiber optic network design and build out the physical infrastructure. “It’s far more cost-effective,” Newton said. Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell added that it will provide a more complete picture to present to voters when the committee seeks funding for the build at the spring 2025 Town Meeting.
Wilbraham is not alone in seeking an alternative to commercial internet providers. Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Westfield, Chicopee, South Hadley, West Springfield — more than a dozen municipalities in Western Massachusetts are in various phases of creating municipal broadband networks. Most towns are partnering with a fiber optic internet service provider, such as Whip City Fiber or Fiberspring, to build the town-owned network and operate the service. Wilbraham is doing it differently than its neighbors, however.
The town is pursuing an “open-access” structure, in which the town would own the infrastructure and ISPs would contract with the town to offer their internet service over the municipal fiber lines. The Wilbraham Broadband Advisory Committee has been working with Entry Point Networks, a business that provides internet marketplace software, from which customers could choose which ISP they would like to use. Newton said customers could change their ISP as often as they would like because there would be no contracts.
“The beauty of the open-access model is that there will be multiple providers. Nothing spurs lower prices more than competition,” Newton said. “Why just bring one other provider into town?”
Price competition is not the only reason Wilbraham is working on a town-owned network. It will also provide the town with some control over which ISPs do business in town and a revenue stream. The ISPs would lease space on the network from the town, allowing them to offer their service to Wilbraham’s customers. Bunnell said that there are “strong indications through Entry Point” and a “high level of confidence that there will be plenty of providers” that will want access to the town. Newton explained that the most expensive part of offering internet to a population is building out the infrastructure. Using the town’s system, Newton said, “Companies don’t have to build the network. Without that overhead, it’s much cheaper to provide service.”
The details of the network, such as whether it is buried or carried on poles, would be worked out in the design process. Bunnell said the goal is to offer both download and upload speeds of 1 gigabit per second. The “take rate” or the percentage of internet customers who would need to sign up for the town’s network for it to be self-sustaining, would also be calculated by the designer-builder. Many area communities that have pursued municipal broadband have found a take rate of at least 50% is required to make the project profitable for the municipalities.
For more information about the development of a municipally owned broadband network in Wilbraham, visit wilbrahamfiber.com.
