WESTFIELD–As alternative Internet sources continue to find their ways into Westfield homes, the question of “cutting the cord” is becoming more and more common.
DAN HOWARD
But just how beneficial, if at all, is cutting the cord? Unfortunately for the consumer, there is no easy answer. However, the options being presented mean that more and more choices are coming up as Internet and cable companies battle for customers.
For many residents in Westfield, they have historically been tasked with choosing between Direct TV or Dish satellite television services and Comcast, who provides cable, Internet and phone. Now, Whip City Fiber is attempting to carve its way into the customer base that Comcast has by offering faster Internet potential that can allow for a better experience when streaming video.
Whip City Fiber and Comcast are the primary competitors in Westfield for these services and The Westfield News is here to detail the options in order to help residents make their decision.
It is important to note that Whip City Fiber is not providing phone, television or any other video streaming service. Whip City Fiber is the internet gateway to access new means for these services in a way Westfield residents have never been able to take advantage of before. To assist, representatives from Whip City Fiber are available to educate residents on the options. For more information visit www.whipcityfiber.com
The most important concern for residents is getting TV, or video, content in the comfort of your home and the future of doing this is by streaming it through the internet. For those that do not know what streaming is, it is simply watching video–whether it is a television show, movie or funny cat video–over a device through an Internet connection. 
Whip City Fiber boasts one gigabit–or 1,000 megabits–per second of data over their connection, while Comcast provides 150 megabits-per-second on its highest XFINITY package. With the faster Internet that Whip City Fiber provides, they argue that the quality of streaming is improved.
With this higher speed, Whip City Fiber representatives propose that video quality is better. Additionally, you can stream multiple video services like Hulu, Netflix and Sling TV in the home while also surfing the internet and talking on the phone without experiencing lag or buffering.
This high bandwidth also allows for a change in home phone service as well. VOIP, voice over internet protocol, allows people the ability to use your internet connection for phone service. This is what Comcast currently offers but Whip City Fiber opens up the option pool to many more services than what customers may be familiar with. Some available VOIP services are Ooma, Magic Jack, Nextiva and Vonage to name just a few.
“We just want to give you the pipeline for services,” Lisa Stowe of Whip City Fiber said about its service.
And that is what it can provide–a pipeline for video streaming services that provide you with a majority of television programming. Programs like “The Walking Dead,” “Breaking Bad,” WWE “Raw” and even “Car 54, Where Are You?” can all be seen through a variety of streaming services, many of which range from $10 to $25 a month. To get an idea of what you may want to view and the costs, go to theverge.com’s “The Cord Cutter for a price comparison.
This means that what is traditionally provided through cable can mostly be found through streaming services, and at a cheaper rate.
For the local sports fan, cord cutting still hits close to home.
File photo of Boston Bruins celebrating win. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
Currently, fans of the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics cannot watch their beloved teams through streaming options, but only through Comcast, Direct TV or Dish Network in Westfield. Due to contractual obligations with each league of the respected teams, only these companies are currently afforded the rights of showing the games in local markets. With the national trend towards more streaming content these contracts will eventually change and local teams will become available through streaming. It is important to note that there is no timeline yet for this change.
There is no denying that Westfield has a large sports fan population. According to the television measurement company, Nielsen, the fifth-most watched channel in the Springfield television market, in which Westfield is a part, is NESN, who carries both Red Sox and Bruins games.
There is one sport though, that does have some availability without cable. Through a digital antenna–which Whip City Fiber is also promoting–people can see most of the basic cable stations, including CBS where you can watch the Patriots, or FOX where you can watch the New York football Giants.
What’s old is new again as over the air antennas are back allowing for free, over the air television. For a one time only cost homeowners can purchase a High Definition over the air antenna which can provide 15 or more television channels, depending on where you live. For example, WGBY, WWLP and WGGB each have four channels available over the air, some of which are not available through any current television provider.
Of course, if you are not a sports fan, then an HD antenna or streaming may seem like an acceptable option–especially when attempting to avoid contracts and cost. According to theverge.com’s “The Cord Cutter,” which tallies total cost of streaming services, using Sling TV, Hulu, Netflix and Amazon streaming–which will provide you with multiple networks, including TBS, ABC, TNT, ESPN and AMC–the total cost will be $45.23 a month. Combine this with the cost of Whip City Fiber at $69.95 a month, and your total of $115.18 a month is less than Comcast’s “HD Preferred XF Triple Play,” which is priced at $119.99 a month and goes up to $144.99 a month after 12 months, which is also contractually obligated.
According to Comcast, with their XFINITY package you can watch all of those options and others, including sports, while also streaming them on any device within your home and all from the same source. The same cannot be said of cutting the cord options, which has some shows on one streaming service and others on another, which is a different process from what viewers are accustomed to.
“For a lot of our customers it’s about ease of use,” Comcast’s northeast marketing director Brian Ferney said. “You can cobble together solutions but what we do better than anybody else is bringing it all together on one platform.”
This ease of use is great, but Comcast’s XFINITY also provides users with the ability to download their content to devices so they can watch shows or movies on the go. While some streaming services like Amazon offer this same ability, it is often by paying for the individual download, while XFINITY’s is free with a subscription.
Both options, Whip City Fiber and Comcast , provide what consumers are looking for but it depends on what the consumer wants to determine what the best decision is.
The decision between cutting the cord and cable is not an easy one, and the ultimate choice is based on what the consumers decide they want. The best advice then, is to investigate all choices and to come up with your own decision–hopefully with the help of The Westfield News.
The Westfield News will continue to follow this. For more, listen to The Westfield News Radio Show Thursday morning from 6-8am as Dan Howard, General Manager of Westfield Gas & Electric, is the guest. The show can be heard on WSKB 89.5fm, streamed at wskb.org or watched on Comcast channel 15. If you are unable to watch the show live you can view it at any time at vimeo.com/channels/wskb.
