Selectboard and Board of Health Approve Resumption of Interior Broadband Work

Whip City Fiber and its subcontractor Tri-Wire have developed protocols and secured the necessary personal protective equipment to ensure that both crews and homeowners will be safe during in-home broadband installations. These protocols include:

• Homeowners choose the service installation during COVID-19 on a voluntary basis.
• Upon arrival to the home, technicians confirm that no one in the home has symptoms typical of a communicable illness.
• On-site technicians minimize customer interactions and limit time spent in homeowner’s living areas as much as possible.
• Throughout the installation, technicians and homeowners maintain social separation, at least 6 feet at all times.
• Technicians wipe down components, especially the router and Ooma box, upon completion of the installation work.

Plainfield’s Board of Health and the Selectboard have approved the resumption of this work, provided that homeowners are aware this is a voluntary option. Homeowners whose service has been delayed due to COVID-19 may choose to connect now or at a future date until September 30, 2020. The priority for resumption of this work is as follows:

1. Homeowners in the northeast part of town who had previously signed up for service and who have been waiting for in-home installation since network construction was completed in that area of town in March.
2. Any other homeowner — no matter where in town — who had signed up for service and who delayed or cancelled installations due to COVID-19.
3. The 18 households with Team Boxes. For these locations, the technicians will return to the home to deconstruct the Team Box and reinstall the components inside the home.
4. Any household who has previously signed up for a cold drop and who now requests full service. 

Service Drop Policy Deadline Extended

Because of the project delays due to COVID-19 precautions, the Selectboard has authorized an extension for residential customers to request connection to the town broadband network. The town will pay 100% of installations costs for homeowners who request service by September 30, 2020. Requests for service after this deadline may require the homeowner to pay some or all of the costs out of pocket. 

We advise all new home or business premise builders to contact Plainfield Broadband to get cost estimates for connecting to the town broadband network. Any home or business that did not exist in March 2019 was not included in our original network design or the capital budget for the network build. You will need to plan to cover 100% of the costs to bring the fiber from the street to your premise; this could range from $300 to several thousand dollars, depending on your location.

Appreciations

We want to thank everyone in town for supporting the construction of this essential infrastructure, and for bearing with the many twists and turns along the way.

We are also very grateful for the entire team at Westfield Gas + Electric/Whip City Fiber. Through our intergovernmental agreement, we’ve established a strong working partnership that places the interests of our broadband customers front and center. Unlike large profit-motivated Internet service providers, Whip City Fiber and Plainfield Broadband are focused on providing the best possible service at a fair price. We’re acting with utmost care and concern for customers and service workers during these challenging times. We also want to offer deep gratitude for the White Mountain Cable and Tri-Wire crews who have gone above and beyond their call of duty to help our town join the 21st century and to build a world-class fiber-optic network that Plainfielders will enjoy for decades to come.

With best wishes for good health to you and yours,