Fours years after creating the WiredWest telecommunications coop to bring broadband to rural communities in Western Mass, 23 towns have signaled they’re ready to move forward with a regional fiber-optic network.
Over the last several months, 23 WiredWest communities have passed bond authorizations totaling $36 million for their towns’ portions of costs to build a fiber-optic network. The votes have been characterized by record attendance and passage by overwhelming margins, including three unanimous town votes. Given the authorizations passed so far, the state funds qualified for amounts to $19 million.
On July 13th, the Town of Tolland became the 23rd town to authorize their funding. Several more towns are planning to conduct meetings in the fall.
Residents and businesses are also indicating strong appetites for the services WiredWest is planning to bring to their communities.
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So far WiredWest has received over 7,000 deposits for service, representing more than a third of potential subscribers, and 15 towns have more than 40% of premises subscribed. Tallies for each town can be seen here.