Low-income residents will be able to purchase fast internet for $30 a month through Haverhill’s newest provider.
Stephen Maher, the director of government affairs for Ripple Fiber, made that commitment during a presentation Tuesday before Haverhill’s City Council.
Furthermore, Mayor Melinda E. Barrett estimated the city will save in excess of $2 million as the company has offered to provide high-speed internet to all city buildings as well as replace the private network which links city buildings. Currently, she said, Comcast provides the so-called iNet loop, but Barrett said Comcast is ending the service by 2030. Barrett added she is also in negotiations with other internet vendors.
“Obviously, we’re a great market and I think they will do well, and whoever comes next will do well in Haverhill. People have been clamoring for some alternatives for quite a while,” Barrett said.
Barrett’s enthusiasm for an alternative to Comcast cable, for both the city and its residents, was shared by councilors, especially Vice President John A. Michitson, who has been prodding the city to find a competitive fiber vendor for years.
As reported by WHAV last month, the Charlotte, N.C., expects to begin stringing its fiber optic cable sometime this summer. Maher said at the mayor’s request the firm will use existing utility poles to avoid digging trenches whenever possible. When poles are not an alternative, they plan to use a boring system and site their trenches in the grassy margins of roads, not in the roadway.
Officials said digging trenches to lay cables has proved to be a barrier for other internet companies which have explored Haverhill as a market. A little more than a year ago, Canadian-based Breezeline abandoned its plan to offer a competing internet service in Haverhill, citing a lack of customer interest.
Maher said the company is committed to making its service available to every home in Haverhill that requests it. They plan a ribbon cutting ceremony and an aggressive marketing campaign. He also said they will be happy to provide training to those who need it, especially older residents not familiar with how to stream television programming.
In addition to the discounted service for low-income residents, Ripple plans to offer a base package that begin at $40 a month for 650 megabits per second upload and download speeds. An eight-gigabyte speed will cost $120 a month.
Maher said the company prides itself on hiring locally and being a good community partner by sponsoring programs offered by local nonprofits. Founded in 2021, the company is operating in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington in addition to Massachusetts. 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.