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By mid-summer residential and business internet customers in Haverhill will have another option for receiving high-speed internet access over fiber.
Ripple Fiber, a Charlotte, N.C., company, is in the process of completing a contract with Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett to compete against Comcast, according to Stephen Maher, Ripple’s director of governmental affairs.
Maher told WHAV he expects the company will start stringing wires from existing utility poles in June and the service will be offered on a rolling basis.
“As soon as we run the wires in front of a house, the resident can sign up for service,” he said.
Maher said his company will provide free high-speed internet to all municipal buildings in the city, including schools, City Hall and the Department of Public Works, as part of its contract. Ripple has also committed to opening an office in the city.
A little more than a year ago, Canadian-based Breezeline abandoned its plan to offer a competing internet service in Haverhill. Haverhill approved that company’s estimated $28-$30 million project in September 2022
Ripple is already providing internet service in some areas of Holden and West Boylston and its service should become available in Merrimac shortly, Maher said. He said the company hasn’t decided where it will start construction in Haverhill. The company expects to include some 10,000 homes in its buildout.
Maher added the company requires permits from the city to bury wires underground in areas where there are no utility poles. They have begun the process of securing agreements with Verizon, the owner of most of the utility poles in the city, he said.
Christine Lindberg, Barrett’s chief of staff, said a second fiber optics company, Go Net Speed, has also made serious inquiries about providing its internet service in Haverhill.
“Competition is so important because for so long people have been held hostage by Comcast,” Lindberg told WHAV. “More and more we are hearing people want high speed internet at a reasonable cost for streaming.”
Haverhill City Council Vice President John A. Michitson cheered the news. “The arrival of fiber providers like Ripple Fiber and GoNetspeed is a major step forward for Haverhill, bringing faster, more reliable internet that supports economic growth, education, our competitiveness in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world and competition with Comcast. Just as importantly, we must ensure this investment reaches every neighborhood—because equitable access to high-speed internet is essential infrastructure, not a luxury.”
Ripple’s packages begin at $40 a month for 650 megabits per second upload and download speeds. They offer packages from one gigabyte for $85 a month to eight gigabytes for $120 a month.
Founded in 2021, the company is currently operating in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington in addition to Massachusetts.