Many Richmond residents have no access to high-speed internet. A local telephone company wants to change that - Berkshire Eagle

RICHMOND — Until recently, Denise Mullen had ne'er had entree to high-speed net astatine her location on rural Cunningham Hill Road.

"We person been connected DSL retired present astatine our location for 10 years," she said. "Are you aged capable to cognize DSL? It's not precise pleasant if that's each you tin get. Everybody's talking astir streaming this and streaming that. You can't bash that connected DSL."

Mullen doesn't person to interest astir DSL anymore. She is present hooked up to high-speed net done a task initiated by the past independently owned telephone institution successful the Berkshires, which would similar to bring that capableness to the full town.

The Richmond Telephone Company began installing the fibre needed to entree high-speed net to residents who unrecorded successful areas wherever it wasn't disposable earlier this year. Access truthful acold has been provided to residents who unrecorded connected a fewer streets similar Cunningham Hill Road, that are located disconnected some Summit Road and Route 295, wherever high-speed net is already disposable done Spectrum.

But institution proprietor Crista Proper said the steadfast has precocious tally a fibre tube down to the town's Richmond Shores area, which it hopes to link this spring.

Proper's extremity is to yet supply the full municipality with entree to high-speed internet. 

"We started successful benignant of an borderline retired strategy wherever we already had fibre due to the fact that we jointly ain a batch of the poles successful the town, truthful it was casual for america to enactment our ain fibre connected the poles," said Proper, who bought the Richmond Telephone Company successful December 2020.

"So we've done it wherever it makes consciousness for america close now," she said, "where we didn't person a immense outlay connected the infrastructure and we tin physique disconnected the fibre web that's already determination to supply the customers successful Richmond with accidental for fibre close to the home."

Proper is the founder, president and CEO of Proper Connections of East Greenbush, N.Y., which owns Richmond Telephone. It is 1 of conscionable 3 independently owned telephone firms inactive operating successful Massachusetts, and Richmond Telephone's roots day backmost to 1903.

Before starting her ain concern successful 2011, Proper had spent a decennary arsenic wide manager of Richmond Telephone erstwhile the institution was nether antithetic ownership. She has been upgrading Richmond Telephone since taking it implicit and believes that providing high-speed net entree to municipality residences is the champion mode to support the institution viable.  

"We enactment a batch of wealth backmost into the spot to get it backmost connected its feet," Proper said. "Dial code is evidently thing that you're not going to physique a concern on. Broadband is truly wherever I saw the future."

The rollout has outgo Richmond Telephone immoderate $500,000 truthful far, according to Proper. She is funny successful applying for national and authorities broadband grants to assistance wage for the project, but Richmond hasn't been eligible for those funds before.

"We were beauteous definite that if we wanted to support Richmond Telephone we truly had to supply fibre to the location due to the fact that there's thing amended than that," Proper said. "If we're going to walk wealth wherefore walk wealth upgrading an older technology? Let's conscionable get the champion exertion determination tin be."

Taj Monjardo lives connected Canaan Road (Route 295), truthful dissimilar Mullins helium already had entree to high-speed net done Spectrum. But helium took Richmond Telephone up connected its connection to supply fibre anyway. 

"I'm conscionable truly blessed to cognize that there's section work that I could telephone and get idiosyncratic who lives successful Richmond who cared astir however my strategy worked oregon cared astir my section service, and that the money's going to section people, " helium said.

"I had Spectrum and tried to cancel it and I'm inactive trying to cancel it 4 months later," helium said. "That's wherefore section work is truthful nice."

Mullen graded the work provided by Richmond Telephone truthful acold arsenic an "A-plus-plus."

"They're ever disposable to speech with you and ever disposable to travel retired and look implicit immoderate the occupation is," she said. 

She watched this year's World Series connected YouTube TV's streaming service, which she couldn't entree with DSL.

"Oh my God, the net is conscionable fantastic," Mullen said. "I had been utilizing Direct TV retired present with outer service. Now that I person fibre optics I'm utilizing it less."