- Image via Wikipedia
- Image via Wikipedia
By Ben Storrow Staff Writer
SHUTESBURY — Shutesbury became the first town in western Massachusetts to act on a proposal aimed at bringing broadband Internet access to every resident in the region at a special Town Meeting Tuesday night.
Voters unanimously approved a plan that would allow the town to create its own telecommunications department and join with other municipalities to establish the fiber-optic network needed to provide high-speed Internet access.
Yet even while supporters of the measure called Tuesday’s vote an important step toward bringing high-speed Internet to the area, they conceded it was only the beginning of what promises to be a long and arduous journey.
“This is one of the most significant economic disparities our town faces at the moment,” said Town Administrator Becky Torres, noting that roughly half Shutesbury’s residents do not have access to broadband Internet.
“We are just asking for the permission to take the first step,” Torres said.
Many of the 60 or so residents who had gathered at the meeting were initially reluctant to take that step, however.
Specifically, the proposal before voters called for utilizing state legislation that allows a municipality to create its own electric company. That measure was designed in the early 20th century when the state and federal governments worked to bring electricity to rural America.
The legislation was amended in recent years to allow towns to create their own telecommunications departments, enabling them to build and maintain their own high-speed Internet infrastructure.
The broadband plan before voters Tuesday would allow Shutesbury to first create its own telecommunications department and later join a cooperative with other towns to create and maintain the necessary broadband infrastructure.
The vote came as state and federal governments work toward building a $71 million fiber-optic network needed to provide broadband service. However, that initiative will bring broadband to small-town centers only, not all the way to everyone’s homes.
Article Continued on Amherst Bulletin…
Related articles
- Broadband usage growing even as gaps persist (boston.com)
- More remote communities get Internet broadband (canada.com)
