Westfield city realized $88 mn benefits from fiber broadband

The city of Westfield, Mass., has realized over $88 million annually in job-related benefits from the deployment of fiber optic broadband, according to The Fiber Broadband Association.
Optical fiber investmentWestfield Gas & Electric (WG&E), the owner and operator of Westfield’s fiber network, started investing in fiber to implement a SCADA network to automate utility services.

It launched Whip City Fiber in 2015. It received permission from the Westfield City Council in 2017 to petition for a $15 million bond to fund the rollout of fiber infrastructure to cover 70 percent of the city. The service provider became a network project manager to 20 municipalities in the Western Berkshire Mountains region.

“Today our fiber network has generated over 4,600 work-from-home jobs for a city of 41,000 people, provided high-speed broadband to the public school system, increased home values, and brought new businesses and economic development into the city,” said John Leary, Information Technology Manager at Westfield Gas & Electric.

Whip City Fiber has over 152 miles of network and delivers 1 Gbps broadband speeds. Several local businesses lease dark fiber from Whip City for their operations, including medical facilities, a regional bank, and a local manufacturing firm with multiple sites in the area, the report said.

The broadband service provider generates $2-$4 million a year in revenue and invests in expanding the network for delivering broadband to more residents. Whip City Fiber expects to deliver broadband internet service to all of Westfield and expand speeds to 10 Gbps by 2025.

“WG&E and Whip City Fiber have created jobs and value to the region through the deployment of its fiber infrastructure. They have acted as a leader on how to deploy high-speed broadband, illustrating how communities and utilities benefit from fiber,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President, Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association.

Latest

More like this
Related

$500 bn B2B Opportunity for Telecom Operators: GSMA Highlights Enterprise Digital Transformation Market Growth

GSMA Intelligence estimates a $500 billion opportunity for telecom...

10 Steps for Enhancing Digital India: Driving Growth, Innovation, and Inclusion

India’s Digital India initiative has become a cornerstone of...

Best and Worst Airport Wi-Fi in the Middle East: Riyadh Leads, Istanbul Lags

Wi-Fi performance across major airports in the Middle East...

Verizon Strengthens FWA Strategy with Starry Acquisition, Adding 100K Subscribers and Advanced mmWave Technology

Verizon Verizon is expanding its fixed wireless access (FWA)...