State looks to update broadband map of Mass.

Boston Globe
May 6, 2009
By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

Several state agencies are teaming up to develop "sophisticated mapping that will help the state determine the highest priority areas for investments in broadband infrastructure and technology," the administration of Governor Deval L. Patrick said.

"The mapping project will initially focus on Western Massachusetts, where problems with broadband coverage are most acute," Patrick's office said in a press release..

One of the project's goals is to update a broadband map of the state developed in 2007, said the press release, which added, "The new mapping project will identify the availability of broadband access at a much more detailed level, based on mapping of broadband infrastructure by individual block."

Among entities involved in the project are the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, the press release said.

According to the press release, Patrick has put a high priority on deploying high-speed Internet, or broadband, to unserved and underserved areas of Massachusetts; last year, he signed a law that aims to "accelerate investment in broadband infrastructure assets, such as fiber-optic cables and wireless towers."