Your town may have high-speed internet. But does everyone in your community have access? - Berkshire Eagle

PITTSFIELD — For the past decennary successful occidental Massachusetts, closing the integer divide meant getting fiber, cablegram oregon wireless work to each address.

Today, the frontier isn’t geographic.

With astir all “last mile” connections complete, Gov. Charlie Baker’s medication has shifted, successful its last months, to efforts to assistance Massachusetts households flooded different obstacles to access.

Locally, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is helping cities and towns get connected a way to caller reservoirs of fiscal and method help. More than fractional a twelve Berkshires communities expressed involvement by attending a presumption done the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

“We deliberation Berkshire County towns showing involvement aboriginal sets america up good for the adjacent phases of authorities oregon national funding, successful areas wherever we mightiness beryllium overlooked,” said Wylie Goodman, the commission's elder economical improvement planner.

Lanesborough has applied, according to a connection from the readying commission, and Clarksburg expects to leap in. Pittsfield, North Adams, Williamstown, New Marlborough and Mount Washington took portion successful the MMA webinar.

Last week, Baker and different apical authorities officials came to the portion to observe the six-year last mile broadband project. Speakers astatine the event, held successful Ashfield, looked guardant arsenic good arsenic back.

Michael Kennealy, caput of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said a new Digital Equity Planning Program wrong the Massachusetts Broadband Institute volition assistance cities and towns contend with however gaps successful existent net entree impact radical successful their communities.

The caller programme volition manager municipalities connected however to pat into important pots of money.

“These are important parts of the adjacent iteration of the strategy, which is astir $350 cardinal successful authorities and national funding,” Kennealy said successful Ashfield.

In Berkshire County, Goodman is reaching retired to each community, encouraging them to use to articulation with the MBI to program for integer equity.

The point? Finding ways to widen broadband entree to radical who stay connected the sidelines – radical who stay disadvantaged by not taking portion successful today’s ascendant communications tool.

The obstruction could beryllium cost, integer literacy and basal tech skills, connection oregon not having the close devices.

“We inactive person gaps, and they're not lone retired here, they're each crossed the state,” Ashley Stolba, undersecretary of lodging and economical development, told the Ashfield gathering. “We're doing a ton of enactment arsenic we deliberation done however we're going to walk this $350 million. We're doing the planning, we're doing the applications, we're doing the strategy.”

The MBI says strategies idiosyncratic towns acceptable volition usher the state’s wide integer equity program – and power however national infrastructure wealth is spent.

Kennealy, the lodging and economical improvement secretary, said past week the Digital Equity Planning Program volition acceptable the array for those aboriginal investments.

Helping radical astir affected by the pandemic remains a apical goal, the authorities says.

Opting in

For the past mile task that’s wrapping up, the authorities allocated $57 cardinal to assistance residents successful 53 unserved towns. Now, the wider integer equity effort opens that playing tract to each assemblage successful Massachusetts.

For that reason, Goodman is urging Berkshires municipal leaders to opt successful now. The readying process with MBI is free.

There’s nary introduction fee, but the imaginable reward is significant. Baker and Kennealy said the authorities volition beryllium managing astir $350 cardinal successful backing to marque high-speed net disposable to all.

While determination isn’t yet a deadline to apply, Goodman said communities volition vie for funding.

“Our extremity is to guarantee erstwhile authorities and national funds travel into Massachusetts to money high-speed broadband, that radical are excited and prepared and capable to usage the exertion to its afloat extent,” she said Wednesday.

“We would anticipation that astatine slightest a 4th (of Berkshires communities), if not more, would participate,” Goodman said.

Local officials person 2 options successful joining the readying effort. One, a “Digital Equity Charrette,” runs 1 to 3 months and focuses connected putting assemblage members and leaders unneurotic with experts to pinpoint however much radical tin unafraid high-speed internet.

The second, a “Digital Equity Plan,” calls for six- to eight-month deeper dive into a community’s needs that volition item needed steps.