Massachusetts Broadband Institute launched, with $40 million to bring broadband to all unserved communities

Gov. Patrick signs new broadband access law at Goshen Town Hall

GOSHEN – The hand-made signs held by the children in front of the Town Hall told the story: “Happy Birthday, Gov. Patrick. Go Broadband.” “Thank you Gov. Patrick. Broadband = Finished Homework, from Aaron and Sam.” And “Kids Need Love, Safety + Broadband.”

Gov. Patrick is greeted by young supporter at Massachusetts Broadband Institute launch.

Almost a year to the day that Gov. Deval Patrick announced his plan to launch a Massachusetts Broadband Institute, he traveled to Goshen to sign the law creating the new $40 million initiative in poignant fashion.
As the crowd of more than 100 well-wishers serenaded Gov. Patrick with “Happy Birthday,” the Governor signed the bill into law.

It was, according to State Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), the first time in history a sitting governor in Massachusetts had officially visited Goshen, a hill-town community west of Northampton along Route 9.

Rosenberg, who introduced Governor Patrick, praised the governor’s leadership. “It’s a promise made, and a promise kept,” he said. “The new law,” Rosenberg continued, “is the result of the effectiveness of Governor Deval Patrick’s leadership.”

For Goshen residents Jeff Blair and Catherine Sands, and their two children, Maya, 11, and Scarlet, 9, the governor’s signing of the new law creating the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) was much more than a symbolic action; it carried with it the promise that within three years, they will no longer have to live in the antiquated dial-up world, forced to drive down to Meekins Library in the neighboring town of Williamsburg in order to connect to high-speed Internet.

Broadband Institute
The new Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) will reside at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, with $40 million in funds created through bond financing in what will be known as the new Broadband Incentive Fund. The goal is to bridge the digital divide by investing in the construction of fiber, wireless towers and other critical and long-lived broadband infrastructure. Targeted state investments will attract and complement private sector investment, making it more cost effective for private providers to deliver complete solutions for customers in regions without broadband coverage.

In addition to communities in western Massachusetts, the new Institute will also be working with Open Cape to develop new infrastructure to improve the “inadequate” broadband services on Cape Cod.

Many of the residents in western Massachusetts have waited more than a decade for the promise of broadband to be delivered; it will still take a little more time to turn the new initiative into a working reality.

“When people call tomorrow and ask, ‘When am I getting it?’ I’m going to have to explain it’s going to take some time,” said Sharon Ferry, the business manager for Berkshire Connect, one of the local coalitions which have played a critical leadership role in advocating for affordable broadband services for 11 years.

Rolf Benzian, the chair of the Chesterfield broadband board, who sat in a chair beneath the array of TV cameras to watch the proceedings, concurred with Ferry. “It’s alright to wait on this a bit,” he said. “It takes money to bring it about, especially in the unserved areas,” he said. “In the end, everyone will be connected to fiber optic for broadband, TV and telephone.”