WENDELL — There is now a WiFi hotspot at the Town Offices parking lot after the town accepted an offer from Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, in partnership with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) and Westfield Gas & Electric/Whip City Fiber, to temporarily expand internet access during the pandemic.
In addition to Wendell, other Franklin County towns that are gaining hotspots through the program include Hawley, Charlemont, Ashfield, Heath, Leyden, New Salem and Colrain. The free hotspots will be accessible to residents through Sept. 1, according to a statement from MBI.
The Wendell Selectboard decided to take advantage of a new program aimed at helping municipalities that lack broadband, and the hotspot at 9 Morse Village Road was established a few days ago. The network name is WhipCityFiber. No password is required.
This spot becomes the second WiFi hotspot in town after the Wendell Free Library parking lot at 7 Wendell Depot Road, where the network name is wendelllibrary. Again, no password is required.
“Many people are working or going to school or talking to their doctor online nowadays and, in Wendell, we don’t have broadband,” said Christine Heard, who sits of the town’s Selectboard and the Broadband Committee. “We’re in the process of installing that. Many people spend time in the library parking lot (for internet). This just provides them with another location.”
The Town Offices and the library are still closed to the public as a result of the pandemic. Heard said the Town Offices’ parking lot is likely the largest in Wendell.
Broadband Committee Co-Chair Alistair MacMartin said Monday he had already heard from two people — a couples therapist and a mediator — about how much the new hotspot will help their professional lives. He said both individuals had been driving to the Leverett Village Co-op to access internet, and that the hotspot at the Town Offices parking lot is “a bunch easier for them.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.