Twenty-Two towns form the WiredWest Cooperative

August 13^th was a historic occasion for many Western Massachusetts towns, which officially formed a joint cooperative to build and operate a state-of-the-art telecommunications network for residents and businesses. The new Cooperative – WiredWest – will create a community-owned network offering high quality internet, phone and television services to member towns.

Today, most WiredWest towns have only partial coverage from limited-bandwidth broadband technologies. Forming the WiredWest Cooperative represents our towns taking responsibility for ensuring we have the fundamental infrastructure to support future economic development and quality of life for residents.

Twenty-two Western Massachusetts towns joined the Cooperative, with 18 additional towns in the process of voting and expected to join the Coop over the next year. Founding member towns span four counties, including Berkshire County towns of Egremont, Great Barrington, Monterey, New Marlborough, Otis, Peru, Sandisfield, Washington and West Stockbridge; Franklin County towns of Ashfield, Charlemont, Conway, Heath, New Salem, Rowe, Shutesbury, Warwick and Wendell; Hampshire County towns of Cummington, Middlefield and Plainfield; and the Hampden County town of Chester.  See here for a map of WiredWest towns and their progress.

As part of the official incorporation activities, delegates signed a Cooperative Agreement, elected a leadership team to oversee the project, and approved the Coop’s bylaws. The incorporation took place in Cummington, a town in the geographic center of WiredWest’s territory, and was followed by a celebration attended by town delegates, legislators and regional broadband advocates. Pictures from the event are available here.

Now that the group is officially a legal entity, WiredWest’s focus is completion of a comprehensive business plan, raising financing and planning the network. The group recently received a $50,000 planning grant from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and is raising additional local funding to assist with start-up requirements.

WiredWest Incorporation August 13th

August 13^th will be a historic occasion for many Western Massachusetts towns, as they form a joint cooperative to build and operate a state-of-the-art telecommunications network for residents and businesses. Founding member towns have traditionally been unserved or underserved by existing broadband providers. The new Cooperative, called WiredWest, will create a community-owned network offering high quality internet, phone and television services to member towns.

Today, most WiredWest towns have only partial coverage from limited-bandwidth broadband technologies. WiredWest’s goal is not only to create fair access to broadband for all member town residents, but also to provide very high-quality services on a reliable, state-of-the-art network that will meet the escalating bandwidth requirements of businesses and home owners, and provide enough capacity for many decades.

The proposed WiredWest network will connect to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s middle-mile fiber-optic infrastructure to create a robust network from end to end.

Twenty-three Western Massachusetts towns have taken the necessary steps to join the WiredWest co-operative by passing votes in two consecutive town meetings. Seventeen additional towns are in the process of voting and are expected to join the Cooperative over the next year. A map of WiredWest towns and their progress can be viewed on the WiredWest website.

The WiredWest Cooperative is utilizing “Municipal Light Plant” legislation, initially drafted in 1906, when rural towns faced a similar crisis of access to fundamental services from a lack of electricity. In 1996, the provision of telecommunications services was added to the statute, which enables municipalities to build and operate broadband services in the Commonwealth.

The leadership team and working groups are focused on finalizing a business plan, putting financing together and early network planning. The group recently received a $50,000 planning grant from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and has also raised additional funding from local businesses and individuals to assist with start-up requirements.

The incorporation will take place in Cummington, a town in the geographic center of WiredWest’s territory. Detailed information on the meeting is available here.