IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE GOVERNOR’S ANNOUNCEMENT of a change in posture by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) for its Last Mile program, things seem to be moving in a positive — and more vigorous — direction.
Here’s a synopsis of what has taken place in the past 30 days:
On Wednesday, April 27, the Hawley Selectboard sent a letter to Governor Baker stating that Hawley:
- would be pursuing a wireless option;
- had decided “. . . not to pursue a fiber alternative due to excessive cost”; and that,
- “. . . it is difficult to proceed until we have some clarity from the State regarding the future of the Massachusetts Broadband program and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), both as a whole and as these apply to Hawley.”
Hawley’s letter to the Governor went on to say that “. . . we urge the State to do everything possible to expedite the process of making already promised funding available, especially to those towns who are ready to commit to a direction that has been approved by MBI. Additionally, we are concerned regarding the impact that the Broadband Wireless Access Study (BWA) may have on existing schedules and plans. We request reassurance of and action toward the State’s continued financial commitment.” [The text of this letter can be reviewed HERE.]
On Tuesday, May 10, Governor Baker met with a group of Broadband representatives from Western Massachusetts and Continue reading