Colrain, Massachusetts' town-wide broadband project nears completion

Nearly eight years after Colrain (MA) residents approved a bond to fund a town-wide broadband project, that project has just a “handful” of installations left to be completed. About 600 houses in Colrain are now connected to the broadband service. Michael Shuipis, a co-manager of Colrain’s Municipal Light Plant, said he has been “pleasantly surprised” by the number of people in town who have signed onto the service. The project will bring gigabit internet — up to 1,000 megabits per second — to Colrain residents, who have had several slower options in the past such as DSL, cellular data or no internet at all, according to Town Administrator Kevin Fox. The project is expected to finish at, or under, its target budget of $3.7 million, which was funded by a $2.4 million bond authorization by town residents and a $1.31 million Massachusetts Broadband Institute grant. The service is provided by Whip City Fiber, a branch of Westfield Gas and Electric. Colrain, which has a three-year contract with Whip City Fiber, is one of several hilltowns that the company has been expanding broadband internet service to and Shuipis said the company has been extremely helpful in navigating this long process.