This doesn’t seem to have made the Daily Hampshire Gazette yet. But according to a Facebook post, some residents of Shutesbury (near Amherst) are now wired to the town’s new municipal network and getting 1 gigabit per second fiber to the home. Congratulations, Shutesbury!
With no incumbent cable provider, their previous options were dialup, DSL where available or pricey and reportedly subpar satellite service.
The service costs $75/month. Residents can add Internet phone for a total of $89/month. An Internet phone only package is available for $75/month.
The town had a “sale” going on which required signing up before June 1. These residents pay a $200 installation fee. Residents can add in a $50 charge for Internet phone and $60 if they want a battery backup of their Internet phone service. If they need additional wiring, the charge is $110/hour for the labor.
Currently 87% of residents have said they will subscribe to the network. They are clamoring to get connected. It will take a while to get people connected. Not all neighborhoods are wired yet, and the installer is trying to connect people in the most efficient way, which means that those first in line to get the service don’t necessarily get it. Sertex has been hired as the network installer. Crocker Communications is running the network for the town.
This is all pretty exciting. It’s making Shutesbury a preferred place to live locally.