WESTFIELD—It’s now up to city council to determine if high-speed internet will become even more accessible in Westfield.
The city council’s finance subcommittee voted unanimously last night to move a $15 million bond request to city council for vote. The bond will tentatively be used to expand Westfield Gas and Electric’s (G&E’s) Whip City Fiber internet service across the city. The bond would help to create a significant increase in the high-speed internet service over two years, and will now go to city council for approval when they meet next Thursday.
Finance subcommittee discusses Whip City Fiber with Westfield G and E representatives
And while the $15 million bond wouldn’t provide coverage for the entire city, well over half of Westfield would be upgraded. If approved, Whip City Fiber would utilize the bond to help provide the high-speed internet option to 70 percent of homes in the city, which would be up from the 13 to 15 percent of homes currently covered.
“We determine at this time we have an aggressive schedule with the $15 million,” Dan Howard, general manager of the G&E, said. “But there is a very difficult way to build out the entire city in less than a two-year period.”
The plan, barring the bond’s approval, is for Whip City Fiber to build what G&E has termed “fiberhoods”—or areas where fiber internet services exist—in 10 phases over two years with the bond money, beginning with the southeastern portion of the city in the Feeding Hills Road area. Each phase would constitute a neighborhood in the city.
In addition, the bond would help to finish current construction of fiberhoods, as well as quicken the pace of the expansion.
“We would be starting a new phase every month to month and a half,” Howard said.
Howard added that while their goal is to reach everyone, it takes time to develop that complete of a network. He also said that Whip City Fiber is not trying to monopolize the city’s internet options, but rather to provide it with another, more affordable option. This means that for the time being, Comcast will remain the de facto option for those seeking expanded cable.
If approved, the bond would actually start as a two-year note, Howard said. Once the loan passes the two-year mark it will then become a bond, which is then expected to be paid off over 20 years, at a 3.5 percent interest rate. Payments for the bond are expected to come from G&E itself, since it is a rate-charging entity, rather than the city paying for it through annual budgets.
For further explanation on the bond process, like the one explained above, you can read the January 17th Westfield News story on how bonds work.
City council meets next and is expected to act on the bond request on Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.
