On Thursday, January 12th, I attended an MBI conference call, and the briefing was about mapping verification. Each of the unserved and underserved towns have to verify internet coverage maps for the various services that are already available within their borders. Data that I collect from the Alford Broadband Survey (which should arrive in your postal mail soon) will help me to accurately update these maps when I receive them.

The MBI’s Community Representative Briefing was hosted by Cynthia Gaines (GIS Project Manager) and Christine Hatch (Outreach Manager). The meeting covered the State Broadband Initiative (SBI) Program, the State & National Broadband Maps and Data, the Data Verification Project, and the Role of Municipalities in Verification.

The State Broadband Initiative (SBI) is a federal grant program with participation by all 56 states and territories. The MBI was awarded $6.1 as our designated state mapping entity. Accurate information is critical for broadband planning, and the current information doesn’t accurately portray our needs in Western MA. The SBI Programs include:

• Broadband Data Collection, which consists of Broadband availability, technology & speed, as well as internet connectivity at community anchor institutions (a.k.a. town government locations).
• Broadband Mapping, dealing with the state and national broadband maps.
• Broadband Planning, handling deployment barriers & last mile analysis.
• Broadband Adoption, which collects data about computer, Internet and application usage.

The Data Collection project includes data collected from broadband service providers for wire line (Cable, DSL & Fiber optic) and wireless (Fixed, Mobile (3G/4G) & Satellite), as well as data submitted by town broadband representatives and collected from the MBI’s online broadband surveys. You can search the MA Broadband Interactive Map which focuses on technology, speed and the of providers for given areas. The National Broadband Map is information updated by the federal broadband initiative on a semi-annual basis for each state.

Of course, the MBI’s maps are more accurate and detailed for Western MA than the National Broadband Maps. The MBI needs more accurate data than what the internet providers have submitted, so they are using alternate verification sources, such as service area modeling, the MBI’s Public Broadband Survey, and community anchor institution surveys (a.k.a. our town governments).

My Tasks And Objectives

The MBI is mapping field locations of DSL remote terminals, community wire line map reviews, and verification of mobile wireless service drive studies, which I will be undertaking. For the current status on Wireline Verification, I need to verify the data submitted by internet providers (and more specific details about each of the census blocks), to map service availability by address, and to support last mile planning. This is why I decided to perform an updated Alford Broadband Survey for 2012. I will receive maps from our Regional Planning Agency, and will review and make corrections directly on the maps.

Summary Of Internet Technologies

Wireline services are provided via a physical “wired” connection. Cable (which we currently do not have) is delivered over coaxial cable television lines. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL, which is sparsely available in Alford) provides “always on” broadband service via copper telephone lines that is limited by distance. It extends up to approximately 18,000 cable feet, in all directions from a central office (CO) or in a specific direction from a remote terminal (RT). Fiber-Optic (which we do not have) is delivered via light impulses along glass or plastic fiber lines. Wireless services include services such as WISP (provided by WiSpring), cellular 3G and 4G (provided by Verizon Wireless), and Satellite (provided by Hughes, WildBlue, etc). The survey I’m conducting will provide me with the details about what services each of you are currently using at your physical locations.

DSL Mapping Issues

There is little DSL service in Alford, but the survey will help me to pinpoint the actual residents getting service. The DSL maps are less accurate because the estimated DSL service areas were developed based on an 18,000 foot distance from Central Offices. Modeling can overestimate or underestimate actual service. Remote Terminals have been mapped and show estimated DSL status, but areas served by Remote Terminals are not included on maps. Your physical street locations will help me to see where any DSL is actually serving our town at the moment, and I’ll need to estimate the last serviceable address on applicable roads.

Summary Of The Survey

The MBI will be sending me maps and information in early February, and the Alford Broadband Survey is due back from all of you by February 29th. In the beginning of March, I’ll verify and make changes to the MBI maps, and will compile and send all of the maps and information back to the MBI. While you are waiting to receive the Alford Broadband Survey in your postal mail, you can complete the MBI’s Public Broadband Survey if you haven’t already done so, however, I still need you to complete and return Alford’s postal survey.

Sincerely, Arthur Dellea

UPDATE: On January 14th, Reva Reck of WiredWest sent me an updated correction for this article: “I’d like to clarify one point you made in regard to WiredWest. We will not be waiting for MBI’s roll-out to start our own construction. We will start on our network as soon as we obtain financing. Although we will use MBI’s middle mile, we could also connect to other fiber networks, so we wouldn’t necessarily need to wait to connect a town until MBI had done so. That said, we have a lot of work ahead of us and realistically I doubt we’ll be done before MBI. We won’t however, wait for MBI to finish before we start.”

As of today, the Alford Broadband Survey for 2012 is being printed for postal delivery. It’s been a few years since we’ve performed a broadband survey, and we need updated statistics to determine the broadband internet needs for our town. You should receive the survey in your postal mail very soon, it is of the utmost importance that you participate in this survey. It needs to be filled out and returned before February 29th, you can mail it back or drop it off at the Town Offices.

My original plan was to post a broadband survey on the town’s web site, but then I realized that an online survey may not reach everyone. A postal survey will be more effective at getting everyone’s participation and should produce far more accurate results. It will give providers a clear understanding of our needs, our desires, and their potential “take-rate” for customers and services.

I will be compiling the survey data in the beginning of March. The statistical information will be posted here on the town’s site, and your street addresses will be compiled and delivered to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute for broadband mapping. This information will also be given to Wired West, WiSpring, and may be sent to other potential internet providers upon request.

The Fiber-Optic Backbone

As you may remember from town meetings and from postings on the town site, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) will be running a fiber-optic backbone into our town, but will only be connecting directly to the Town Offices, the Town Hall, the Highway Department and the Fire Department. In order to provide services to the rest of us, internet providers will be connecting to the fiber-optic backbone to give us residential and business connections.

Internet Providers

We already have a local wireless internet provider, WiSpring, who is providing internet access to the town, and WiSpring will benefit from the MBI backbone. WiredWest is the regionally-created fiber-optic provider that we voted on in the 2011 town meeting last May, and we need to pass a second vote for WiredWest (and to establish a Municipal Lighting Plant with them) at Alford’s 2012 town meeting this May so that we can become a Wired West member town. Other providers, such as Verizon, Time Warner, etc, may want to offer services through the fiber as well after MBI’s backbone has been established.

Broadband Meetings Summary

I have not attended broadband meetings for several months, as some of the meetings have been informational (more geared toward public awareness), and at this point, here in Alford we do not need any more information to proceed. I may attend the larger, more publicized area meetings and will record and post videos when possible.

I’ve been taking part in all of the MBI’s telephone conference meetings. They haven’t had one in quite some time, but I’ll be joining in on one this week, and will post a summary.

WiredWest’s meetings have primarily been geared toward planning with the towns that have already become WiredWest members (and who have already passed two votes of approval). Once we’ve become a full-fledged member town of WiredWest, I will be representing our town in their meetings.

Current Progress

The few things that are holding us back from getting service are politics, funding, and time. Funding is needed to fuel the fiber-optic roll-out at the state level, time is needed to physically set up the backbone, and obviously politics tends to hold back progress. However, MBI has approved state and federal funding with a deadline to complete the fiber-optic roll-out by the summer of 2013.

WiSpring continues to provide our town with wireless internet services. In 2011 they performed changes and upgrades within their network to give us stronger connections and smoother internet speeds. Overall, we have not had any outages in quite some time, and I have not received any complaints about service issues in months. WiSpring has not only improved their backbone with newer technology as it has become available, they have also been working on expansion. They are in the process of establishing services in the town of Tyringham, and they have plans to establish service in West Stockbridge as well. I’ve been told by WiSpring that one of their towers in West Stockbridge may be erected not far from the northern border of Alford, which may be able to provide more of our northern residents with wireless internet access.

WiredWest will not be able to progress in the physical roll-out of their services until the MBI backbone is complete. But in the meantime, WiredWest has continued to become more organized, they’ve established a business plan, they’ve been moving forward in planning their own structure, and have been ironing out the political and financial speed bumps along their path. WiredWest already has some approved state funding, and they continue to apply for more funding as potential grants become available. This week, the Alford Selectmen signed support for another source of funding that will be a great help to WiredWest if they receive it.

Happy New Year everyone!
Sincerely, Arthur Dellea

On September 19, 2011, Judy Dumont (the Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute) hosted another MassBroadband 123 update via conference call, and I participated. All in all it was a very interesting meeting, and showed me that the progress of the fiber-optic network is definitely moving and is underway! Now it’s just a matter of time, about 2 years for completion.

The First Year in Review covered Procurements, Permits and Pole Surveys. The MBI has established a competitively procured project team, including a network operator, owner’s project manager, environmental firm, engineering firm and design/builder. Agreements have been signed with pole owners (including Verizon, National Grid and Western MA Electric), the city of Springfield, and ITD/EOPSS. The Make-Ready construction work began, a Community Representative Team was created, and the Construction Start Event in Sandisfield with Governor was held.

The selected Design Builder is G4S. G4S received approval from MA Inspector General to use design-buildprocess as defined by Chapter 149A, which concerns public construction alternative delivery methods. The procurement process was 26 weeks with multiple steps including a public opening of the financial bids, and G4S was selected based on their estimate and quality scores. G4S is responsible for final design and construction of the network and for procuring fiber and electronics. They are also the contractor on I-91 MassDOT and MBI fiber networks.

As for the pole status, pole agreements are currently covering 116 of 124 communities. Municipal electrics and Unitel are still negotiating agreements with MBI. Of the 35,000 poles that are involved in this project, 95% of poles have been surveyed, 50% of poles were submitted to pole owners, 8% of poles have make-ready estimates, and 6% of poles have been licensed. Storms, the hurricane, and the Verizon strike, etc, have slowed the make-ready process a bit.

The Project Update sounds progressive and promising. The design site survey is complete on 225 community anchor institutions (CAIs) and the evaluation is being completed on 21 points of interconnections (POIs). The first fiber order has been placed, completing the I-91 connection to 1 Federal St in Springfield. The target “go-live” date is expected to be in October 2011, and the initial offering will be for commercial traffic. Axia has preliminary agreements with 2 large service providers, Cornerstone Networks and Crocker Communications and this list is expected to grow substantially.

CAI connections are community anchor institutions (such as town offices, police, fire, libraries, etc) and vary from town to town. The MBI engineer Gannet Fleming is currently contacting CAIs to set up site visits to design connections. MBI has to design almost 1,400 CAIs. Also, MBI will hold multiple community outreach events to provide project updates, CAI information and mapping verification support. Their fall schedule will be out soon.

Part of the MA State Broadband Initiative is to verify availability data of the current providers. They are launching verification efforts in Berkshire, Hampshire and Hampden counties, and have partnered with regional planning agencies and WesternMA Connect. They’ve completed these verifications in Franklin and North Worcester counties.

The Last mile grant projects are underway. MBI is preparing a second DCR Fire Tower RFP, and is also working with their consultants to develop last mile business plans and technology strategies. WM Connect and the MBI are continuing the telecommunications bylaw review and model bylaw planning, and are investigating additional funding sources such as Rural Utility Services, SBA, EDA, and the Universal Service Fund.

Federal funding was received to build an e-government website, which will be partnering with the Department of Veterans Services to build a comprehensive veterans’ portal. MBI has eelected developer to build portal, which is expected to go live in Q1 2012, and they are working to launch “splash” page for Veteran’s Day 2011.

MBI is working with the Mass Association of Community Development Corporations, which will issue an RFP in Fall 2011 to select four CDCs from across the state. Each CDC will help 10 small businesses adopt technology into their business and provide support.

For the latest news on broadband, visit the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and WiredWest.
Sincerely, Arthur Dellea.

August 13th will be a historic occasion for many Western Massachusetts towns, as they form a joint cooperative to build and operate a state-of-the-art telecommunications network for residents and businesses. Founding member towns have traditionally been unserved or underserved by existing broadband providers. The new Cooperative, called WiredWest, will create a community-owned network offering high quality internet, phone and television services to member towns.

Today, most WiredWest towns have only partial coverage from limited-bandwidth broadband technologies. WiredWest’s goal is not only to create fair access to broadband for all member town residents, but also to provide very high-quality services on a reliable, state-of-the-art network that will meet the escalating bandwidth requirements of businesses and home owners, and provide enough capacity for many decades.

The proposed WiredWest network will connect to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s middle-mile fiber-optic infrastructure to create a robust network from end to end.

Twenty-three Western Massachusetts towns have taken the necessary steps to join the WiredWest co-operative by passing votes in two consecutive town meetings. Seventeen additional towns are in the process of voting and are expected to join the Cooperative over the next year. A map of WiredWest towns and their progress can be viewed on the WiredWest website.

The WiredWest Cooperative is utilizing “Municipal Light Plant” legislation, initially drafted in 1906, when rural towns faced a similar crisis of access to fundamental services from a lack of electricity. In 1996, the provision of telecommunications services was added to the statute, which enables municipalities to build and operate broadband services in the Commonwealth.

The leadership team and working groups are focused on finalizing a business plan, putting financing together and early network planning. The group recently received a $50,000 planning grant from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and has also raised additional funding from local businesses and individuals to assist with start-up requirements.

The incorporation will take place in Cummington, a town in the geographic center of WiredWest’s territory.

About WiredWest:

WiredWest is a community organization with the mission of designing, building and operating a last-mile, community-owned, fiber-optic network in member towns that offers comprehensive, affordable and reliable internet, phone and television services to residents, businesses and institutions who want service.

A video compilation of legislators, businesspeople, educators, students and professionals talking about the proposed WiredWest network is available for online viewing here.

Now is the time to submit your thoughts on how you think cable television and telephone (including cell phones) service providers should respond to consumer concerns.

According to federal and state law, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications & Cable (DTC) is the Commonwealth’s authority in regulating these industries, which includes enforcing consumer protection regulations.  The DTC is seeking to modernize the consumer protection regulations for telephone and cable television services for the state.  Much has changed in these industries since the current regulations were established in 1986!

Adequate consumer protection regulations are important to protect the consumer from poor or inadequate responsiveness by a service provider.  At the same time, these regulations give clear, consistent guidance to service providers about how they should respond to given situations.

You now have an opportunity to let your voice be heard in the development of these regulations. The DTC is seeking your comments on a range of issues and questions about consumer protections for billing and service termination, such as:

• Should consumer protection regulations apply to both wireline and wireless service, cable television service and bundled services?
• Should there be changes in the current protections for telephone customers experiencing a personal emergency or serious illness, or for seniors?
• Should consumer protection regulations protect small business in addition to individuals?

Responses to these questions or other comments may be submitted by mail or email before Monday, August 22nd, or at one of four scheduled public information forums.  More information is available online in the “Revised Notice of Public Informational Forums” at www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dtc/telecom/BillingandTermination/RevisedBandTPubNot70711.pdf.  The citation for the current DTC regulations that govern “Billing and Termination of Service” (207 CMR 10.00) can be viewed at www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dte/catv/documents/207cmr.pdf  and scrolling to page 15.

The DTC public forums are scheduled for:

• Wednesday, August 10th from 5-8 pm at the Berkshire Community College, 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, MA
• Thursday, August 11th from 5-8 pm at the Springfield Technical Community College, 1 Armory Square, Springfield, MA
• Monday, August 15th from 5-8 pm at the UMASS Medical Center, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA
• Monday, August 22nd from 10 am – 4 pm at the Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA