Rural town of Leverett builds its own broadband network

Mass Innovations, From the Beacon, Summer 2014

Leverett, a Franklin County community of fewer than 1,900 people, has emerged as a potential model for delivering broadband Internet access in rural towns.

The town is building its own high-speed “fiber to the premises” network for every home in town, and service is expected to be in place by the end of this year.

The ambitious project was made possible by a $3.6 million debt exclusion approved by 83 percent of voters in 2012, according to Leverett Selectman Peter d’Errico. Support at the preceding Town Meeting was even higher.

The debt exclusion will add an average of about $300 per year to property-tax bills for 20 years, but consumers will get low-cost, high-quality residential phone and Internet service. For the most part, Internet service is currently available through satellite and dial-up connections.

The project, d’Errico said, emerged out of dissatisfaction with the quality of landline phone service available in Leverett and some other area towns.

“We had been preparing a complaint about voice quality in the region,” d’Errico said. “As the residents were looking at telephone service, we began to look at the absence of broadband and the overall concern about telecommunications in general.”

After telecommunications companies indicated that they were not interested in providing broadband service in Leverett, the town obtained a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, which was used to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a town-owned network.

To make Leverett an example for other communities, it was important that the project demonstrated both political leadership and technical competence, according to d’Errico.

“We’re lucky, we had both,” he said.

The availability of broadband Internet service should add value to people’s homes and increase tax revenue, as well as making it easier for landlords to rent their units, d’Errico added.

D’Errico, who spoke at a recent meeting of the Franklin County Selectmen’s Association, emphasized that challenging questions during hearings about high-speed Internet service should be welcomed, rather than deflected.

“The people who are questioning your project are actually your friends,” he said.

D’Ericco added that other towns may pursue different broadband strategies, based on their needs.

“We’re not saying that we have the magic bullet,” he said. “Towns have to make their own choices, and we’re simply willing to help with lessons learned.”

For more information, contact Peter d’Errico at (413) 548-9699.