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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Feds turn down $100M grant for Western Mass. broadband
By Rodney H. Brown
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The Massachusetts Broadband Institute reports that its application for more than $100 million in federal stimulus funds to speed up broadband infrastructure deployment in Western Massachusetts has been rejected in the latest round of grants.
The state has been building out a high-speed fiber-optic trunk line along the Interstate 91 highway running from the Connecticut to the Vermont borders. The requested federal funds, which the institute announced it was seeking last August, would be used to build out broadband connection rings in what was described as a “middle mile” application in communities in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire Counties. Those rings would then be connected to the larger trunk running along I-91.
The federal broadband funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being doled out by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. According to an MBI statement, “While we are very disappointed by this development, we will work to ensure the Round 2 applications are ultimately approved.”
According to Judith A. Dumont, director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, the deadline for the Round 2 process is fast approaching.
“The second round opens on Feb. 15th and closes on March 15th,” she said. “Round 1 applications had to be in by August and the first awards weren’t given out until December. We believe the Round 2 process will go faster, and they have to be all awarded by September of 2010.”
The institute already gave out state funds in late July from the $40 million bond bill that established the group, awarding $4.3 million to lay the fiber along I-91.
In December, Gov. Deval Patrick appointed former Lightbridge Inc. executive Dumont as director of the MBI, replacing founding director Sharon Gillett. Dumont’s more than 20 years of management experience, including more than 17 years in the wireless telecommunications industry, was cited by the Patrick administration. Gillett went on to serve as Wireline Competition Bureau Chief at the Federal Communications Commission.
Despite the setback, Dumont is determined to get broadband deployed broadly into the western half of the commonwealth.
“The governor is still is very determined that we will close this digital divide in Western Mass.,” Dumont said. “Now the solution may not look like the solution that went into the round one application, but we will close this gap. It is just too important to everything having to do with jobs and safety not to have broadband out in Western Mass.”
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