July 02, 2024

Source: Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech (MBI)

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. – The Healey-Driscoll Administration, in partnership with Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s (MassTech) Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), awarded $45.4 million in grants through the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Program, a program funded through the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund that aims to expand high-speed broadband internet infrastructure to underserved homes, business, and community anchor institutions across the state.

The grant recipients include Comcast, Greenfield Community Energy and Technology, Spectrum Northeast LLC, and Verizon New England Inc. Recipients will use the grants, along with more than $40 million in matching funds, to deploy high-speed internet lines to approximately 2,000 locations in 41 Massachusetts communities that lack access to a broadband connection.

“Our administration is committed to closing the digital divide and ensuring every home and business in the state has the internet connectivity they need to fully participate in a 21st century economy,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We are thankful to our federal partners and the U.S. Treasury for delivering critical funding that will help Massachusetts take a significant step towards digital equity.”

“Everyone in our state needs reliable access to high-speed internet, from students seeking education opportunities to the businesses that keep our economy running,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Through crucial investments like skills training programs, expanding access to internet-enabled devices, and increasing public Wi-Fi hotspots, our administration is unlocking new economic opportunities for residents across our state.”

“Expanding digital equity is essential to building a healthy economy that benefits everyone,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “These grants build on our ongoing work to ensure that residents can access the affordable and reliable broadband service they need to work, learn, access healthcare resources, and connect with loved ones.”

“We’re using a whole-of-government strategy to put federal dollars to work in communities across Massachusetts,” said Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. “Thank you to President Biden, Secretary Yellen and the Massachusetts congressional delegation for making possible these important investments in our broadband infrastructure.”

“The close collaboration with these organizations, coupled with the support from the municipalities themselves, is paramount to the success of these projects,” said MBI Director Michael Baldino. “We’re committed to rolling out these construction projects quickly and efficiently to ensure that the residents at these 2,000-plus locations get the same level of broadband access that many of us take for granted.”

A full breakdown of the grants and covered municipalities includes:

Grant Recipient	Communities Covered	Grant Amount
Comcast	Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Monson, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Palmer, Tisbury, Ware, West Tisbury	$2,693,365
Greenfield Community Energy and Technology	Greenfield	$758,734
Spectrum Northeast LLC	Florida, Hawley, Monroe, Savoy	$4,904,841
Verizon New England Inc.	Agawam, Amesbury, Amherst, Ashburnham, Attleboro, Barre, Bernardston, Brewster, Chicopee, Dartmouth, Deerfield, Fall River, Falmouth, Gloucester, Harwich, Holyoke, Lunenburg, Mashpee, North Brookfield, Sandwich, Sheffield, Townsend, Springfield, Warren, Wellfleet, Yarmouth	$37,068,263

Grant recipients will use funds to deliver projects that must:

• Deliver service that meets or exceeds internet speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 100 Mbps for uploads
• Provide internet access to 100% of all existing unserved and underserved serviceable locations
• Provide a minimum 20% funding match with waivers provided to certain municipalities that have existing debt obligations associated with municipal fiber-to-the-premise projects
• Reach substantial project completion before December 31, 2026

The four awardees selected in the first round will work with MBI to validate the unserved and underserved location count included in each grantee’s proposal. The goal of this review is to connect 100% of the serviceable locations in each community, ensuring alignment with the goal of the federal Internet for All initiative.

The Gap Networks program is currently open and accepting applications to make an additional round of grants. Applicants that were not selected in the first round are eligible to reapply in the second round of the program, which opened on May 23, 2024.  The deadline for second round applications is July 2, 2024. The grant solicitation has been updated to remove the municipalities covered in the Round 1 awards.

Through MBI, Massachusetts has launched several programs to address the digital divide, including programs to support digital equity, municipal planning, and connectivity in public housing. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program will use $147 million to close service gaps in the coming years, aided by the BEAD Challenge process, which launched on June 20 to ensure the accuracy of the state’s internet availability data and maps. The Digital Equity Partnerships program invested more than $40 million to support the work of organizations around digital access issues. The Residential Internet Retrofit Program is using $22 million in funding to deliver high-speed internet to residents of public and affordable housing. Through the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, 106 Massachusetts communities are developing strategic plans to identify roadblocks to internet access. MBI is also supporting municipalities through a separate Implementation Program that funds specific projects identified through the municipal planning process.

 “Many of these communities have historically been excluded from having reliable internet service—a necessity in today’s digital age,” said Congressman Jim McGovern. “Federal, state, and local agencies came together to fund this remarkable initiative, which will unlock high-speed broadband access for more than 40 communities in fewer than two years. I applaud the Healey-Driscoll administration for working tirelessly to close the digital divide, and the Biden-Harris administration for fighting to make sure that every single American who wants fast, reliable internet service can get it.”

“When folks have affordable and reliable high-speed internet, small businesses get ahead, students excel in the classroom, and communities are able to stay connected with loved ones,” said Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03). “I’m thrilled that families in Lunenberg, Townsend and Ashburnham will benefit from this important investment, helping to close the digital divide here in Massachusetts and across our nation!”

About the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech

A division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) is working to extend high-speed internet access and availability across the state. To achieve this, MBI uses state and federal funding to launch infrastructure expansion programs that target areas of the state that lack high-speed internet access as well as digital equity programs that tackle barriers to internet adoption and increase availability, addressing critical issues around affordability, enhanced public Wi-Fi, the need for internet-enabled devices, and digital literacy training.

Learn more at https://broadband.masstech.org.

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