A Broadband Forum for Western Massachusetts: CANCELLED
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THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS. For more information click here.
Overview
The debate about whether broadband should be viewed as an essential infrastructure for every community in America is closed. Broadband connectivity is the expertise of a major hospital made available at a rural health care center. Fast broadband access substitutes for the major international airport when a self-employed business person needs to work with customers halfway around the world. Affordable broadband access ensures that every young person can reach the vast resources of the world from their home on a rural road or an inner-city street.
Since the beginning of the decade, Western Massachusetts has been working for a solution to the situation where over 60 towns in Western Massachusetts have little or no commercial broadband access at the same time that homes in Eastern Massachusetts are having fiber optic cables built to their doorstep. Engineering and business models have been completed demonstrating feasible, regional solutions. Appeals have been made to government at all levels for help to provide what the marketplace refuses to offer. All of the profound efforts of community groups and local legislators come at a time when our federal government tells us that over 99% of zip codes in the US have broadband.*
Even with steadfast leadership by the Western Massachusetts delegation and recent exciting legislation introduced by Governor Patrick, there is still only the promise of a solution for those currently unserved in the Commonwealth. The March 1st, 2008 broadband forum has been designed to fulfill the following objectives:
- Invite citizens to meet directly with the federal and state officials who shape the policies and resources that are used to compensate for what the marketplace fails to provide;
- Offer officials an opportunity to educate, guide, advise and otherwise inform citizens about the tools that are or may soon be available from government;
- Invigorate a dialogue between citizens and their elected/appointed officials on what more can and should be done; and,
- Provide one place where government, citizens and the private sector can build and reinforce the relationships that are so necessary to achieve success.
In the end the acceptable outcome for Western Massachusetts has to be a robust broadband infrastructure that can catch up and keep pace with the bandwidth and price offerings that are commonplace in major metropolitan communities. Anything less will lock the region into a second class status when it comes to education, economic development, healthcare and participation in government. Massachusetts represents anything but a commonwealth as long as this situation persists.