Press Release

WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – Today, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech (MBI) announced the first group of 35 municipalities supported by the Commonwealth’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, a statewide effort to guide municipal decision-making and investments that will increase access, adoption, and usage of the internet, in particular for populations most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The municipalities in the program receive expert consultation on the determining factors of digital access, including internet availability and affordability, access to connected devices, and digital skills training.

Springfield, Mass. – Leaders from the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Economic Development and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech announced $14 million in new grants from the state’s Digital Equity Partnerships Program to address statewide digital equity gaps during an event today at The Tech Foundry in Springfield. The three grants were announced by Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, who highlighted the selected projects from Tech Goes Home, which will receive $4.5 million,; Vinfen, on behalf of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $4.3 million; and Baystate Health, on behalf of the Western MA Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $5.1 million.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Massachusetts received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Massachusetts is receiving $6,003,760.60 in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state.

Ashfield — State officials celebrated the impacts of the Last Mile infrastructure program, which has delivered high-speed internet access to approximately 26,000 premises across 53 towns in north-central and western Massachusetts, and discussed programs that will leverage over $350 million in anticipated state and federal funding to address digital equity and broadband infrastructure gaps that exist statewide.
 

HOLYOKE — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration celebrated the completion of Make Ready work, a four-year, coordinated effort to remove the largest obstacle to extending broadband access across 53 “Last Mile” communities in Western and Central Massachusetts. During a roundtable event hosted at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Undersecretary of Community Development Ashley Stolba commemorated the milestone with executives from the utility companies, service providers, and construction contractors who comprised the Make Ready Working Group responsible for delivering high-speed internet access to the doorsteps of 28,000 households in these towns.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) Telehealth Consortium (the “Consortium”) has received a grant from the Digital Equity Fund of the Essex County Community Foundation in partnership with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The $226,660 grant, funded by the Commonwealth’s “Partnerships for Recovery” initiative, will support a new Telehealth Navigator Program that will increase access to telehealth while also addressing digital equity in under-resourced communities located in Essex County, including Lynn, Salem, Peabody, and Gloucester.

WESTBOROUGH - Today, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech Collaborative announced the extension of several digital equity programs launched through the “Partnerships for Recovery” efforts earlier this year. Supported with $9.2 million in economic recovery funds, the MBI launched public wireless hotspots in unserved towns in western and central Massachusetts and provided digital support for job seekers provided through the Mass. Internet Connect program.

WESTBOROUGH – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the MassTech Collaborative and KCST USA, the operator of the Commonwealth-owned MassBroadband 123 fiber optic network, are working with local internet service providers (ISPs) to offer new Wifi hotspots to municipalities that lack broadband access. Built off of the MassBroadband 123 network, this new service offers each unserved community a temporary 250 Megabit per second wireless hotspot, free of any monthly charge. This will allow unserved communities that do not have a completed broadband project to increase wireless broadband access for residents and students impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

PRINCETON – Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito today joined executives from Charter Communications, Inc., Princeton town officials and residents, state and federal officials, and executives from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech Collaborative to celebrate the impact of the town’s new Charter-constructed broadband network. During a roundtable discussion with local leaders and residents, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito heard about the impact that the increased internet connectivity is having on the community, including improvements for small business owners, public safety, and education.

PELHAM –Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined leaders from nine western and central Massachusetts communities to celebrate the completion of the Broadband Extension Program, a project funded under the Commonwealth’s Last Mile program. The celebration took place in the Pelham Library and was attended by executives from Comcast, which oversaw expansion of broadband networks in nine towns in western and central Massachusetts, leaders from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), and community leaders from the nine communities.