Closing the Broadband Divide in Massachusetts Sharon E. Gillett Director Massachusetts Broadband Institute June 29, 2009

Mapping Challenges: 2006 FCC Form 477 Data

Where We Started Survey conducted by John Adams Innovation Institute, June 2007

An Act Establishing and Funding the Massachusetts Broadband Institute Chapter 231 of the Acts of 2008, signed August 4, 2008 MBI established as new division within quasi-public Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) Up to $40 million bonding authorization to close broadband gaps Approach: public-private partnership with a co-investment model Public bonds fund long-lived infrastructure (e.g. fiber or wireless towers) Private partners fund complementary infrastructure and provide service Private partners may leverage additional federal funds, e.g. RUS Level of funding assumes a regional approach Greater economies of scale than town-at-a-time

Action Plan 1.Assess existing broadband conditions in communities with no or partial coverage 2.Inventory state and local government services that can contribute resources or benefit from broadband 3.Increase availability of broadband for homes, businesses, and government users, with western Massachusetts as first priority 4.Amplify goals 1-3 by competing for and securing federal broadband stimulus funding

Prototype MassGIS Mapping