Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 18, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 15 standard service. DeChristopher said most retail businesses don't have a greater need for bandwidth than residents. ey need to run their point of sale systems, accept payments, and maybe provide customers with internet service in the case of a cafe or restaurant. Fitchburg Fiber offers dedicated service for clients with higher bandwidth needs. One of the company's newest customers is the Fitchburg Public Market, where e Worcester Regional Food Hub is opening a retail location at 35 Main St. Shon Rainford, the food hub's director, chose Fitchburg Fiber aer meeting Taylor through Meagen Donoghue, the executive director of the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority. Fitchburg Fiber's headquarters is in Putnam Place, a former General Electric plant, which has been redeveloped by the FRA. While the Fitchburg Public Market is saving money on internet service compared with other options, Rainford said for him it's more about the local connection, "I want to give as much business to Fitchburg companies as possible," said Rainford. e Fitchburg Public Market will feature prepared food from local entrepreneurs and groceries from Massachusetts farms, so Rainford extended that concept to use locally- sourced internet. Rainford will provide internet access for the vendors at the market, in addition to a public Wi-Fi for customers. Fitchburg Fiber will provide free public internet access at two downtown locations hosting public events: Riverfront Park and on Mill Street, a pedestrian way with a public plaza. Bringing internet access to these spaces will help activate them fully, Bohart said. Getting people outdoors and milling around public spaces is an important part of downtown vitality. Growing locally Taylor did not grow up in Fitchburg, but he is a graduate of Fitchburg State University. He chose to live in the city and start a family there. Bohart said he is an example of something the City of Fitchburg government hopes will happen increasingly: graduates of the university staying put and remaining part of the fabric of the city. While the company's focus is in Fitchburg, Taylor said its current model would work well in other Central Massachusetts cities like Gardner and Worcester, options he and his co-owners are looking into. Small ISPs like Fitchburg Fiber are oen found in rural areas underserved by major providers, Taylor said. He hopes to expand into the rural areas throughout North Central Massachusetts in the future, which would necessitate laying more traditional fiber-optic cable rather than using their transmitting devices. DeChristopher and Taylor said profits are not the goal of the company. ey only want to be able to make a living and aren't looking to take the company public or seek investors who will cut corners in order to increase the bottom line. ey believe in this era the internet is as necessary as electricity or other utilities. is was driven home for them during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools closed in favor of educating kids at home. Before students in Fitchburg were provided with hotspots, Parents without adequate internet access had to bring their children to places where they CS Energy, LLC SENIOR BUSINESS DEVELOPER Worcester, Massachusetts CS Energy LLC (Worcester, MA) Wrk clsly w/biz dev team membrs to srce new opprtnts w/exstng clnts, assist in drvng frwrd exstng prjcts undr dvlpmnt w/cstmrs & lckng in bcklg fr re wrk. Reqs Bach deg in Cnstrctn Mgmt, Elctrcl, Cvl or Mchncl Engg, Enrgy Sys, rltd fld or frgn equiv, fllwd by 2 yrs prog resp exp w/slr prjct engg, prcrmnt &/or cnstrctn. Exp must incl: 2 yrs exp putting tgthr estmts & prpsls fr vndrs or subcntrctrs, dmnstrtng bdgt mgmt; 1 yr exp mangng vndr, sbcntrctr or dsgn frm prjct schdls; 1 yr exp w/cmmrcl prcesses, frm bid, to dsgn, to prcrmnt & cnstrctn aimed at mnmzng costs whle mxmzng prs; 1 yr exp mangng biz dvlpmnt sles & clnt mgmt; & 1 yr exp mangng prjct intks & prpsl assmbly. Prmts tlcmmtng - Reqs min of 3 dys/wk in Worcester, MA offce. Reqs trvl to prjct sites lctd w/in approx 5 hrs of these rgnl offces, approx 3x/mnth fr 4 hrs each visit. EOE. CV to ahoehman@csenergy.com, Ref. DA1. A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N F O C U S Partial list of Fitchburg Fiber customers Bonfire Bookshop ............ 37 Boulder Dr. Boulder Art Gallery .............960 Main St. Dario's Italian Ristoante .....651 Main St. Fitchburg Business Center ...................................344 Main St. Fitchburg Public Market .......35 Main St. Snelling Staffing .................... 331 Mill St. Tacos Tequilas Mexican Cocina ...................310 Main St. The Cellar ................................. 14 Mill St. Source: Fitchburg Fiber Shon Rainford, Worcester Regional Food Hub director could pick up public Wi-Fi rather than learn from the comfort of home. e co-founders' long-term vision is to make the company into a co-op, allowing customers to own their own internet access. ey hope to grow the network regionally, but envision linking up with other like-minded small ISPs to increase ownership of one's internet connection nationwide. For now, the company is growing its network locally, with help from its network of Fitchburg State University, City officials, and business owners. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Monthly broadband consumption (GB) '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22 '23 Monthly U.S. household broadband consumption Source: OpenVault (via allconnect.com) W Fitchburg Fiber's founders with the company dog Opie in their Putnam Place headquarters.

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