Lifeline is a federal program that lowers the monthly cost of phone and internet. Qualified customers will receive up to $9.25 applied directly towards their bill. You can use Lifeline for either phone or internet, but not both. FCC rules prohibit more than one Lifeline service per household. You can apply here.
Sign-up for Becket Broadband is under way, offering high-speed Internet and digital telephone service to residents for the first time! Read the official launch announcement here, or just get on over to the sign-up page here.
Residents of Heath can now sign up for service at http://whipcityfiber.com/heath . For more information and drop policy, click here. Heath Joins WiredWest Charter Members - Welcome Heath At the March 18 Board of Directors Meeting, Art Schwenger, the delegate from Heath, presented the signed contract to operate their network with WiredWest once it's built. Heath has been [...]
The Town of Washington has completed the construction of its state-of-the-art fiber-optic network, which is now delivering superfast internet connections and clear digital phone service to homes and businesses there. A charter member of WiredWest, the town has signed up 192 customers, 7% over the goal it had set. Almost all have been installed and [...]
New Salem is the second WiredWest town to begin servicing customers. Network construction is complete. A very successful signup campaign resulted in 80% of the town signing up. Installations were set back by the Covid-19 lockdown, but have now resumed with social distancing protocols in place. Residents who have not yet signed up can still [...]
Welcome Becket On January 8, the Town of Becket decided to sign on with WiredWest to operate their network once it's built. Becket has been a valued member of WiredWest since it's inception, and has contributed greatly to the formation of our policies and business model. They have now comitted to having WiredWest operate their [...]
Rowe is First to Light Up July 2019 - Rowe is the first WiredWest town to go live. The first few customers have been connected. Speeds are awesome. About 75% of the residents have signed up for service. It will take a couple of months to get everyone connected. Dreams do come true! More Info
Watch streaming video without interruption. Get fast software downloads and updates. Play multiplayer video games. See family and friends as you talk to them on “video phone” applications like Skype. All with the reliability of fiber. Doing schoolwork. More and more, kids have to use the internet to do school- work. Having high-speed internet at home can [...]
As towns near completion of building our networks, we must consider how we're going to manage operating them, and what to charge customers in order to meet expenses. Often the focus is on hiring an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with the lowest price. But the ISP cost turns out to be only a small part [...]
“WiredWest Is Town’s Cheaper Operator For Broadband, Say Consultants” By Katie Nolan Montague Reporter April 19, 2018 WENDELL - On Tuesday night, Jim Crowley of Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E) and Brian Richards of PineRidge Consulting presented a joint Wendell broadband committee and selectboard meeting with a comparison of costs for the town to operate a broadband network as an independent operator, or as a member of the WiredWest regional cooperative. The consultants considered administrative costs such as insurance, electrical power for the network electronic equipment, pole licensing, accounting, audits, legal fees, maintenance of the cables and other outdoor equipment, internet service provider (ISP) subscriber fees, and network backhaul (high bandwidth connection from the town’s electronic operation location to their wholesale ISP). The consultants’ report concluded that “Over time, as operator of a regional cooperative network, WiredWest could offer a better value to all members towns, as opposed to operating their network independently.” Because the consultants’ presentation and committee and citizen questions continued from 7pm until after 9pm, the joint meeting tabled all of its other agenda items, including item #9, “Possibility of revoting Town authorization of Broadband project,” until Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm. Approximately a dozen citizens attended the meeting, including Robbie Leppzer, author of an open letter to the selectboard affirming “strong support for building a municipally-owned broadband network in Wendell,” and other signers of this letter. Here is a link to download the full report (PDF - 1 MB): www.turningtide.com/…/Comparison_of_Broadband_Operational_M…