Broadband advocates meet tonight

By Ben Storrow
02/03/2010

NORTHAMPTON - Policymakers and advocates of greater broadband Internet access will gather at Northampton High School tonight at 7 in attempts to salvage a plan to bring high-speed telecommunications to rural western Mass. communities.

A regional initiative designed to increase Internet access in the Hilltowns suffered a setback recently, following a decision by the federal government to reject a $100 million grant application, which would have provided 33 unserved or under-served towns with broadband, as part of the federal stimulus package.

Two other regional grants were also rejected by the federal government. One $3.8 million grant would have established computer centers at schools, senior centers and libraries, while a second $2.9 million grant would have provided funds for workshops aimed at helping nonprofits and other community organizations use the internet.

The federal government's decision temporarily set back a movement that has garnered considerable support at the state level in recent years.

Local broadband committees have emerged in towns ranging from Shutesbury to Colrain to the southern Berkshires. At the state level, the Legislature appropriated $40 million in 2008 to create the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, which is charged with expanding broadband infrastructure throughout the state, while Gov. Deval Patrick has shown considerable support for broadband initiatives. He visited Goshen in 2008 and New Salem in 2009 to tout the state's efforts to bring broadband to rural communities.

State Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, said the federal government's decision represented a setback to the region's broadband efforts.

"The very disappointing news about the federal stimulus money will set us back and cause us to re-evaluate how to get universal broadband throughout western Massachusetts. The meeting in Northampton will be an update from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute on the second stimulus application in round two and how we regroup and move ahead in implementing our broadband goals," Kulik said.

Michael DeChiara, a founding member of the Shutesbury Broadband Committee, applauded the state's efforts, but noted that more work remained in bringing broadband to western Massachusetts.

"In Shutesbury, we have maybe 40, 50 percent broadband coverage," DeChiara said, noting that access to broadband has important economic implications for rural communities.

He said today's meeting was intended to provide solutions on how to expand broadband infrastructure in the western part of the state.

"This week's meeting, given all that has transpired, is about what we do next," DeChiara said. "The questions are do we apply for a second round of federal funding and then what do we do in western Massachusetts and the state at large."

Chris Kealey, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Technological Collaborative, which oversees the state's Broadband Institute, said the institute would apply for a second round of federal funds being distributed through the National Telecommunications and Information Agency in March.

Tonight's meeting will be a working session between state and local officials, as well as broadband advocates, Kealey said. Institute Director Judith Dumont will attend, Kealey noted, to talk about how to coordinate with decision makers and advocates.

Representatives from the Franklin County Regional Council of Governments and western MassConnect also will be on hand. Officials from 101 cities and towns have been invited to attend the meeting, Kealey said.