Richard from Leverett’s Comments

• Dec 30th, 2015 @ 3:24pm

  Leverettnet

  on After A Decade Of Waiting For Verizon, Town Builds Itself Gigabit Fiber For $75 Per Month
  Heere is the real deal in Leverett
  
  Leverett had a few Verizon DSL lines close to Amherst MA. Verizon is abandoning DSL and had no intention of extending fios to Leverett.
  Comcast never served Leverett and had no interest in doing so because of the distance between houses.
  
  Internet was available for Wild Blue and Hughes but you know how lousy that service is. TV was from Dish and DirecTV. So with the ~$100 a month for Leverettnet and the increase in property taxes I am saving approximately $150 to $200 a month for far better service. Even with the taxes. Remember We operate this network at cost as a town service and in 20 years the bonds will be paid off. We have maintenance and periodic upgrades built into the cost of service.
  
  
  Verizon could not care less about this because they were not maintaining the legacy copper network in Leveret and now 81% of their complaining unhappy customers are off their back.
  
  Of the other 19% of non subscribers more the 50% of these are either summer residences or vacant and up for sale.
  
  Of the remaining house: In a town with Leverett's demographics houses come on the market do to owners passing away. So houses are vacant for extended periods while the estate gets settled. A lot of empty houses are being renovated in town to be placed on the market because high speed broadband make it worth doing.
  
  So what's not to like?
• Dec 30th, 2015 @ 2:55pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  on After A Decade Of Waiting For Verizon, Town Builds Itself Gigabit Fiber For $75 Per Month
  The average age in Leverett is in the mid sixties. I'm 67 and was on the broadband committee that managed the build of the seven people on the board 3 are retired and two are in their sixties and two in their forties or fifties. The older residents in town are the people who made this system happen.
• Dec 30th, 2015 @ 2:50pm

  Re: Re: 'Leave it to the professionals'

  on After A Decade Of Waiting For Verizon, Town Builds Itself Gigabit Fiber For $75 Per Month
  Man you don't know Leverett or Western Massachusetts very well.
  
  Leverett voter passed the Municipal Lighting Plant and bond issue by well over 90% margin and there is no interest by either Verizon or Comcast in serving Leverett. We run town with the town meeting system of government there are no politicians for Verizon and Comcast to buy. Also Comcast does not do business in Leverett and never has and Verizon has essentially abandoned their land lines in town and doesn't provide cell service.
• Dec 30th, 2015 @ 2:46pm

  Re: Easy fix.

  on After A Decade Of Waiting For Verizon, Town Builds Itself Gigabit Fiber For $75 Per Month
  Massachusetts has legislation in place to allow municipal lighting plants to provide telecommunications Leverettnet is 100% legal and an ISDS suit is an inviable option.