There will be a gathering to celebrate the life of Maureen Johnson Hickey (1938-2025) at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge on Saturday, June 28th from 1:00-3:00pm.
Auditor Suzanne M. Bump Monday released an audit of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative that assessed the controls and planning at its Massachusetts Broadband Institute.
The towns of Sandisfield, New Marlborough, Monterey and Tolland decided to share the pain by hiring an attorney who helped them navigate a legal pathway that would allow the towns to bid out the construction of a fiber optic network and sign a 15-year contract with a service provider to operate it.
The Commonwealth grant will also support the extension of broadband and digital television service to an estimated 440 households in Hinsdale, Lanesborough and West Stockbridge that are currently without any broadband or cable television service.
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.
“We are deeply concerned over the continuing delays, obfuscations, inadequate communication and lack of transparency, that continue to plague such efforts [to bring broadband to western Massachusetts]”
--- Otis Citizens for Connectivity
“Affordable broadband Internet is no longer considered a luxury but rather an essential utility. The need for broadband in the 21st century is often compared to the need for electricity or phone service in previous centuries.”
-- Mission statement on Massachusetts Broadband Institute web site
