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EX² HELPS BRING BROADBAND TO RURAL MASSACHUSETTS TOWN

Omaha, NEB., January 31, 2017 – The Town of Mount Washington – one of Massachusetts’ smallest towns – is implementing the smart infrastructure needed to bring high-speed broadband services to its previously underserved rural community of 145 residents. Located within the Mount Washington State Forest where internet is generally unavailable and cell service is sporadic, the town is among the nation’s rising municipalities and rural cooperatives taking the necessary steps to provide its community with the critical broadband services that otherwise would not exist. By constructing a municipally owned communications network, Mount Washington will join the recent wave of municipalities taking responsibility for providing their communities with the technology and infrastructure required for basic high-speed internet services. The town will retain ownership of the network upon completion and anticipates selecting a third-party service provider to provide end services to subscribers. Mount Washington, in partnership with White Mountain Cable (a subsidiary of Dycom) and eX² Technology, expects construction of its active Ethernet network to last approximately nine months.

“High-speed internet access has become an essential service in today’s economy, similar to that of electricity,” said Gail Garrett, Selectboard Member, Town of Mount Washington. “We believe our town deserves the same opportunity to connect to the internet as those in larger communities, and, in building our own Fiber to the Home broadband network, we are taking an important step in securing our community’s long-term vitality and sustainability.”

Following a town procurement process, Mount Washington selected White Mountain Cable and eX² Technology to provide design and construction services for its fiber to the home Active Ethernet network. White Mountain Cable will provide fiber optic construction, fiber splicing, termination and testing, and eX² will be responsible for verifying the proposed broadband route and fiber optic cable placement, pole attachment agreements, permitting, outside plant design, headend, network and optical network design.

The network will, ultimately, provide connectivity to residences outfitting each Mount Washington household with dedicated fiber strands originating from MassBroadband’s middle mile backbone termination point at Town Hall. Those who choose to subscribe for internet and telephone services will pay a monthly fee to a third-party service provider.

“The Town of Mount Washington is a great example of a ‘can do’ attitude. The dedication and the commitment of the town’s Select Board, along with the support of its townspeople, was very evident during this process,” said Joel Mulder, Vice President of Sales, eX² Technology. “Other small towns can look at this model and see that receiving broadband services really is achievable.”