Originally published in the Greenfield Recorder (www.recorder.com).
By RICHIE DAVIS Recorder Staff 10/12/02
Used by permission.
With little fanfare or flourish, a band of Charlemont Internet users have set up a high- speed Internet service that could serve as a model for other small towns around Franklin County.
After waiting for Franklin-Hampshire Connect to consolidate enough users around the two counties to entice a major service provider to establish affordable, high-speed telecommunications throughout the area, nearly a dozen users in this town of about 1,300 people banded together and persuaded Adams-based Berkshire Community Network to bring a T-1 line to serve eight to 10 users.
“We looked at what the ‘connects’ are doing,” said Robert Handsaker, who with his wife, Cheryl, operate Charlemont Software in town and spearheaded the effort that brought BCN’s high-speed service to about eight users, from the Academy at Charlemont to Zoar Outdoor.
“They were looking at T-1 customers and up. There just aren’t customers like that in Charlemont. We beat the bushes and looked at everyone interested in high-speed access.”
The Handsakers, who moved to town about 10 years ago, approached BCN to essentially have the town share a T-1 line that would allow speeds of up to 1.5 megabytes per second, and be hooked to a Digital Subscriber Line to the end users.
“I thought if we all worked together, we could work out a solution that would work for Charlemont,” said Handsaker, who had tried unsuccessfully to get businesses together a few years ago.
The difference “is like night and day. It’s really fast,” said Handsaker, who had been using dial-up service before and is now paying $200 a month four times what he’d paid for dial-up service before. “I need the speed once in a while. If my customers suddenly want to send me 20 megabytes of data to look at, they can and it’s not an issue.” He’s not alone in singing the praises of the faster system.
“For us, it’s made a huge difference,” said Bruce Lessels of Zoar Outdoor. For roughly the same $100-a-month cost it was paying for its dial-up service and Web hosting, the rafting business now can tap a fast line that’s always on. “Before, it was so slow, it really wasn’t worthwhile,” he said. “Now, it’s always on. It changes the way you use e-mail.”
Added the Academy’s business manager, John Baldwin, “Before, we got kind of bogged down. It’s great. Up in the hills, we didn’t have many options. “
With three levels of service, at $100, $200 or $300, Handsaker said proudly, “Charlemont now has the only business-class, high-speed Internet service in western Franklin County.
He hopes the service, which also includes the town hall and the library, can eventually be offered to residents for $50 a month.
With a sign-up sheet in hand, the Handsakers approached businesses and found some that were interested they didn’t even know existed.
With an eye toward economic development, there’s even talk of hooking up office space on Main Street that can be rented to users from even smaller, neighboring towns like Hawley, Heath and Rowe.
And Charlemont’s solution is already providing inspiration to Shelburne Falls, where businesses have been talking with BCN. The idea also has spread to Colrain and Ashfield.
But it could also prove to be a problem for Franklin-Hampshire Connect, which has been stalled for months on completing negotiations with Global Crossing and Equal Access Solutions, both of which have been in bankruptcy.
Handsaker said that he originally had some misgivings about pulling out of a regional solution, but has since realized Franklin-Hampshire Connect “really is designed for bigger users.”
Linda Dunlavy, who has spearheaded the two-county effort, said her steering committee will examine Charlemont’s experience when it meets next week, for the first time in months.
“Franklin-Hampshire Connect was hoping for a good and quick solution. Then the telecommunication industry fell apart,” Dunlavy said. She said the Charlemont initiative “reflects well on Franklin-Hampshire. Now they’re coming out with their own solutions.”
Part of the task ahead for the Connect, which has watched similar efforts move ahead in Berkshire County and southern New Hampshire, is to “look at a map and see if we have our region served,” said Dunlavy: “Whether we have a patchwork solution or there’s a reason to go further.”
You can reach Richie Davis at rdavis@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 269
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