Dan Williams of ISO New England

Like many rural towns in Western Massachusetts, Leverett had few options for internet access. In 2012, many residents were still using dial-up access while others invested in satellite equipment. Some, in higher elevations, were able to make use of a cellular signal booster getting internet access from home via their cellular provider. The town is not served by a cable TV provider and in 2011, Verizon – under pressure from state regulators – made DSL service available to a few streets in town serving less than 20% of the residents.

Several past efforts had been made by residents and town government to explore options for improved internet access. Few options were discovered as incumbent providers did not see a cost benefit to bringing service to so few potential customers. Leverett joined the Wired West Cooperative early hoping the promise of a combined effort would pay off but that effort made slow progress.

In 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick created the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI). MBI was charged with bringing broadband to all residents and businesses in MA within three years. The Broadband Act provided MBI with initial $40 million in state bond funds. By the end of 2013, Massachusetts had built 1,200 miles of new fiber optic cable that provided access to anchor institutions (town offices, public safety, libraries) in more than 120 communities in Western and North Central Massachusetts. This established the “Middle Mile” that towns needed to make their own internet connection. It was left to individual towns to complete the “Last Mile” connections to homes and businesses.

Leaders in past efforts to improve phone and internet service in Leverett saw the opportunity to build its own broadband system. In 2011, Selectboard Chairman, Peter D’Errico, negotiated with MBI for a $40K grant to contract for a town fiber network design. Peter also formed the Leverett Broadband Committee, a group of hand-picked residents with a variety of professional skills, who would shepherd the Leverett Broadband Project to successful completion.
In August 2015, Leverett completed LeverettNet, a "last-mile" town-wide Fiber-Optic-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network. LeverettNet is owned by the town and operated under the telecom authority of the Leverett Municipal Light Plant (LMLP), which contracts with third parties for Network Operator, Internet Services Provider, and maintenance functions.

LeverettNet provides symmetrical 1-Gigabit-per-second (1Gbps) Active Ethernet connectivity between every residence and the Internet Point of Presence. LeverettNet connects from the Point of Presence to the Internet Service Provider at 2-Gigabits-per-second, via the Massachusetts Broadband Institute "middle mile" network, a project of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

The project demonstrated that a small town with limited resources could manage and fund a FTTH project on its own. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t without unexpected obstacles – technical and non-technical. This presentation will tell the story of LeverettNet from conception to birth.

Biography:

Dan Williams is a manager and software engineering professional with experience in integrated systems development, engineering project management, software development, and database design in settings ranging from DoD and private industry to municipalities and non-profits. Currently, he is the Supervisor of Data Analytics Support at ISO New England, a non-profit company which operates the New England power grid and wholesale energy markets. Dan has worked for ISO for 17 years in various capacities related to management and development of complex integrated software systems.

Mr. Williams has been a professional software engineer since 1993 when he ended his service with the U.S. Navy where he served as an Electronics Warfare Officer flying the A-3 aircraft. Mr. Williams holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.S. in Software Engineering from Monmouth University. He has been a member of the IEEE since 1997, is a past Chair of the IEEE Springfield Section, and is a IEEE Senior Member.

Peter d’Errico and George Drake

Biography:

Peter d’Errico graduated from Bates College in 1965, with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1968. He was a staff attorney in Dinébe’iiná Náhiiłna be Agha’diit’ahii Navajo Legal Services, 1968-1970. He taught Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1970-2002. As an Emeritus Professor, he is a columnist for Indian Country Today and active in legal research and writing on Indigenous Peoples' issues. He is an elected member of the Leverett, MA, Select Board (municipal government executive body), and a member of the Leverett Municipal Light Plant, which oversees LeverettNet, a fiber-to-the-home network providing Internet and telephone services to Leverett residents and businesses.

George Drake attended the University of Massachusetts, starting in Electrical Engineering in 1961, then transferring into broadcasting. He obtained his FCC First Class Radio Operator's license in 1965 and worked for various radio stations part time. He served in the Air Force from 1967 to 1971 in ground radio maintenance. In 1972 he was hired as an instrumentation engineer in the Zoology Dept., designing, building and servicing electronic equipment used for research. In the early 1980s he designed and installed the Ethernet network for the Morrill Science Center at UMass, including the fiber cable connection from that building complex to the campus connection to the Internet. In subsequent years he has been responsible for the computer services in the Morrill Science Center and for upgrading the network from the original 10mbs coax Ethernet to the present gigabit network. He is presently the Director of Networking and Computing for the College of Natural Sciences.

Dan Williams of ISO New England

Biography:

Peter d’Errico and George Drake

Biography: