On a sunny Tuesday morning in Sandisfield, Governor Deval Patrick announced that construction was beginning on the state’s $71.6 million fiber-optic network. This fiber will bring ultra high-speed internet access to anchor institutions in 123 communities in Western Massachusetts and provide high-capacity backhaul for providers interested in building last-mile connections to homes and businesses.
Therein lies the challenge. Although the Massachusetts Broadband Institute is building fiber backhaul in our region, and connecting public safety agencies, healthcare providers, town halls, public schools, colleges and libraries, it’s appears there isn’t the level of profitability for a private sector firm to extend that connectivity with a robust, high capacity last-mile fiber-optic network to serve all of our region’s homes and businesses.
Many parents we speak to complain about children going to the library to do homework. What these families want is a good connection at home. Likewise for people operating home businesses or working remotely, who are looking for connections that provide access to the same cutting edge business applications enjoyed by those in urban and suburban areas.
Based on feedback from our region’s residents, including comments on the WiredWest Facebook page, even those whose homes are already connected by DSL or wireless are finding their download speeds becoming slower and slower, as more and more users stream high-bandwidth applications like TV shows, movies and YouTube videos, and use applications like file sharing and HD teleconferencing. It’s not surprising we’re hearing complaints about these low-bandwidth technologies; in 2010 alone, bandwidth consumption increased 116%, as shown on the graph in this article, showing the escalation in internet bandwidth consumption over the last few years.
It’s critical to solve the last-mile problem with a solution that provides adequate capacity both for today and the future, is affordable, reaches all in a town who want service – and most importantly, truly positions our students, businesses, institutions and citizens to fully participate in the digital world.
At WiredWest, we believe our communities deserve more than a patchwork of yesterday’s technologies. And there is a feasible way of providing our unserved and underserved communities with access to a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network, through aggregating our towns to provide economies of scale, and financing the network on a municipal basis. This type of operation removes the profit margin required by the private sector, and enables low-cost financing that can be repaid over a much longer period. And just as important, this structure vests control over our telecommunications future squarely in the hands of our region and its citizens.
These types of networks are operating successfully all over the country, and WiredWest has had the benefit of their start-up advice. We are working on finalizing our business plan and financing for this significant initiative, with the assistance of a Massachusetts Broadband Institute grant, and will keep you abreast of our milestones. We hope you will join us in supporting this critical initiative for our communities, by our communities.
Please see here for more information on how you can support the WiredWest effort.
We agree Brandon!
