Gov. Patrick: Three Mass. proposals for
broadband stimulus funds

By Mass High Tech staff
Mass High Tech / October 15, 2009

Governor Deval Patrick has submitted a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) requesting federal stimulus funding for three Massachusetts broadband projects to serve western Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the City of Boston.

NTIA plans to distribute $1.6 billion in its first round of funding for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Currently, the program has received more than 2,200 applications, requesting a total of $28 billion. NTIA expects to announce the fundings in November.

In his letter, Patrick noted the three applications as shovel-ready projects that are the highest priority of the state’s collective broadband projects.

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute noted that western Massachusetts has four unserved communities and 39 underserved communities, in terms of broadband coverage.

The City of Boston applications proposes delivery of free, open-access Internet to 117,000 households in poor neighborhoods of the city, which the application notes is ready for deployment within one month of grant funding.

The OpenCape Corp. proposes Cape Cod and Southeast Massachusetts broadband delivery using three components: a 350-mile fiberoptic system extending to Providence and Brockton; a microwave radio overlay for public safety; and a critical information server colocation center in Barnstable.