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(Whip City Fiber)

Whip City Fiber, Westfield Gas & Electric's foray into high-speed Internet service, is expanding its network following a successful pilot program last summer and fall, the company announced this week.

Which neighborhoods will get it next? The answer to that question is up to Westfield residents.

The company is asking residents to visit its website and indicate their interest in its service, which offers 1 gigabit speeds for $69.95 per month. Residents can provide their address, and the six neighborhoods which get the most support will be targeted for the expansion, Westfield Gas & Electric General Manager Dan Howard said.

It's going to be a challenge to choose neighborhoods one over another," Howard said. "We're trying to, number one, one gauge the interest, and secondly get to the people where the demand for the service is the highest."

The pilot launched in October to about 240 business and residential customers in an area bordered by East Mountain Road, Route 20 and Rachael Terrace over the summer. The speed is high enough to download a two-hour movie in about eight seconds.

"This pilot went extremely well," Howard said. "The demand for it was very strong. The reliability of what we have out there is extremely solid in nature."

The move into broadband may appear unexpected; the largest Internet providers in the United States, like Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner, got their starts as cable or phone companies, not gas and electric utilities. But Howard said in May that the expansion builds on decades of infrastructure which the company has used for internal communications and limited clients.

For about 20 years, Westfield Gas and Electric has run fiber optic cable to its substations and municipal facilities like schools and the Department of Public Works, Howard said. While he declined to say how much the company was spending on bringing that service to the public, Howard described the plan as an investment based on years of experience with communications.

In 2016, the company plans to launch service in about six additional neighborhoods. Residents hoping for service should weigh in soon, Howard said -- the company hopes to begin initial construction in six to eight weeks.

"Realistically, the sooner the better," Howard said.