Sertex Broadband Solutions has received a pair of master service agreements (MSA) to support broadband infrastructure expansion efforts for two electric companies in western Massachusetts, the company announced yesterday.
Westfield Gas & Electric’s Whip City Fiber division awarded Sertex a one-year MSA with two optional one-year renewals to install underground service drops connecting the existing distribution fiber broadband network to residential and business properties. The company has had a long-term working relationship with the utility.
Westfield will be the mobilization hub, with construction — including about 1,000 underground service drops — taking place across Alford, Ashfield, Becket, Blandford, Charlemont, Chesterfield, Colrain, Cummington, East Longmeadow, Goshen, Greenfield, Heath, Leyden, New Ashford, New Salem, Otis, Plainfield, Rowe, Southwick, Washington, Wendell, West Springfield, Westfield, and Windsor.
Chicopee Electric Light’s Crossroads Fiber also awarded Sertex with a new one-year MSA as well as two optional renewals to support Crossroads Fiber, a municipally-owned 100% fiber broadband network serving the residents and businesses of Chicopee, Massachusetts.
It’s not the first time Chicopee Electric has partnered with Sertex for broadband. Last year, the utility awarded Sertex a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project. The utility has worked with Sertex since 2019.
For the new project, Sertex will install underground conduit for Chicopee’s FTTH expansion and provide ongoing maintenance and repair services.
“These awards represent meaningful progress toward closing connectivity gaps in Massachusetts,” Michael Solitro, Sertex Broadband Solutions founder and CEO, said in a prepared statement about the electric company deals. “We are proud to partner with these municipal utilities to deliver the infrastructure needed for economic development, education, public safety, and quality of life.”
The projects rely on the public-private business model Sertex has relied on for several years. The challenge in bringing reliable broadband to rural areas is the build-out costs. When small populations are spread across large geographic areas, hundreds of miles of network infrastructure must be built, often through remote and rugged terrain.
To ensure affordability, the Sertex public-private partnership model relies on local governments’ ability to finance capital projects. For taxpayers, Sertex said in a 2020 press release, access to public bonding means the cost for a publicly-owned fiber network that connects every home and business to high-speed internet service can be less than $1 day.
