MBI will utilize Worthington’s original Last Mile allocation of $1,070,000, with the remaining funds coming from additional investments from both the Commonwealth and the town, utilizing an agreement that will allow the town to contribute year over year without having to use municipal bonds.
"No corporation enters into a sophisticated agreement with the Commonwealth and doesn't do due diligence on make-ready ... They want more money? At what point could that happen again?" -- Attorney Bill Solomon
As part of its Last Mile initiative, MBI will provide Charter with a grant of more than $4.4 million to defray the costs of wiring the rural towns of Egremont, Tyringham, Hancock and Peru. State Rep. Pignatelli also noted that Egremont and perhaps Monterey will have a 1 Gbps connection through Fiber Connect, 12 times faster than what Charter offers in Great Barrington.
The highest speeds provided by cable do not provide what a fiber optic network can. And increasingly, businesses require speeds and capacity possible only with fiber.
Great Barrington, partially served by cable, should get broadband downtown, something Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin has said she is working on. “Great Barrington is our business district. For the town to fulfill its potential, everyone in the business district needs fiber.”
-- State Rep. William 'Smitty' Pignatelli
The Massachusetts Broadband Institute paid $1.9 million to lawyers and consultants to undermine the WiredWest collaborative of 32 towns seeking to create a viable rural broadband, high speed Internet network.
