Western Massachusetts coop creates financial template for regional fiber telecom infrastructure

Steve Nelson: Towns hold the key to broadband - Berkshire Eagle Online: To participate in the last-mile project, a town must take these steps:

1. By Dec. 31, its Select Board must pass a nonbinding resolution expressing the town's intent to participate;

2. As early as next spring at a town meeting, it must authorize the issuance of bonds to cover the town's share of construction costs above the funds contributed by MBI;

3. At the same time, 40 percent of households in a town must sign a conditional contract to take service — Internet, phone and/or TV — when it becomes available.

WiredWest, a Western Massachusetts cooperative formed to construct a regional fiber telecommunications network, has developed the above financing plan for the build out of the network. It's a model that other regions of the United States might wish to study for their own infrastructure development.