All towns have now passed the WiredWest article on their town warrants, and two additional town Selectboards – Egremont and Lanesborough – have also opted to join the discussions around the formation of the WiredWest organization. The total is now 47 towns, which officially convened on June 26th for the inaugural all-town meeting in Cummington. See here for a map of the towns involved.
The first order of business for WiredWest is to determine the best governance structure, so that a legal entity can be approved by the towns. The research on governance options will be done by the WiredWest Steering Committee and the Governance Committee, with guidance from Dr. Andrew Cohill, a community broadband network consultant from Design Nine that has been provided by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and a municipal lawyer provided through grants from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Franklin County Council of Governments.
Work on several other issues, including business model assessment, potential financing, needs assessment and network planning is also being conducted simultaneously by the WiredWest Steering Committee and other subcommittees, with guidance from Dr. Cohill, and input from legislators and other key regional stakeholders.
Read more about WiredWest and community broadband efforts:
June 26th Berkshire Eagle: Broadband: The Next Step
Wired West Plans Muni Open Access Fiber in Western Massachusetts
Breaking the Broadband Monopoly
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