Ding Dong the witch is dead--well, almost.
Xfinity Comcast has long been the Wicked Witch of the West --the major internet service provider in the Western Massachusetts town of Greenfield offering unreliable, spotty service. Assisted in a small way by the Flying Monkeys of Verizon. Last week the town broke free from the monopolistic grip of the internet giant and started pulling together the engineering and management staff to operate the new Greenfield Community Energy and Technology company. Called Greenlight the new independent internet service is wholly owned, run and operated by the town. And the best part--the Greenlight internet will offer more service for less money, not something we Comcast customers regularly experience. Yep, in the words of the ruby slippered witch slayer herself--Greenfield is not in Kansas anymore.
How did this small Western Massachusetts town have the wherewithal to go rogue against the internet behemoth? It started 5 years ago when city officials began looking for a solution to the poor service, so iffy that some still used dial up. So bad that 40 percent of residents opted not to be online. There’s no wave of a magic wand to erase their daily frustration of trying to get and stay connected.
Now it’s true that the hills and valleys of western Massachusetts make it challenging to build and maintain a reliable internet infrastructure. It’s also true that it’s not as profitable as are more densely populated areas.
Mayor Bill Martin recognized the lack of digital connection put Greenfield on “an unequal playing field” in a 24/7 digital world. FCC rules prevented Greenfield from getting state aid to build because competitors Xfinity Comcast and Verizon were already in the market. The quality of the service did not matter. With no access to state monies, the mayor led the lengthy process to get a 5-million-dollar bond and well--the greenlight--from both the city council and voters. Last year’s pilot program was a success, and now within 45 days Greenfield will start wiring the whole town.
When the work is done, Greenfield will be the first in the state to offer home and mobile internet service owning and operating it, the way Holyoke, Wakefield, Middleborough, and Westfield have elected to own their own gas and electric companies. This is different from the town of Leverett which has a local internet service but does not manage it. I predict customers will drop Xfinity Comcast and its sidekick Verizon and rush to sign up with the Greenlight internet service which offers plans that range from 10 to 30 dollars a month compared to Comcast’s fee structure, which starts at 40 dollars and can go as high as 80 dollars monthly.
Meanwhile Comcast spokesperson Kristin L. Roberts said “Greenfield’s plan to enter the broadband market demonstrates that the drive for dynamic innovative competition exists.” Spoken like a company that has virtually no competition anywhere. But what if other cities and towns continued the revolution following Greenfield’s yellow brick road of independence? Shout out to Cambridge leaders --WE could do it! Greenfield has proven what Dorothy discovered--you don’t need a whole lot of water to melt the wicked witch—just one bucketful will do.
