The end of June brought an end to an initial phase of the Wired West campaign for real broadband in rural Massachusetts. When we previously looked in on the Wired West efforts, they had 39 towns supporting the idea. By June 26th, that number had grown to 47. The local paper outlined the overwhelming support and next steps.

Once the non-profit has been formed, financing options would have to be identified, and preliminary design and cost estimate work would start. None of the cost of the project would be borne by the towns, Webb said. Ongoing maintenance cost and debt service payments would come from money paid to the agency by the service providers, added Andrew Michael Cohill, president of Design Nine, a consultancy hired to help WiredWest through the next phase of development.

A previous article discussed a cost estimate of the network and how much money residents send outside their community for service.

Monica Webb, a spokesperson for WiredWest, said that a consultant who met last year with representatives from Mount Washington and 10 other towns in southern Berkshire County estimated the cost of building a fiber-optic network for that region at $27 million. But, Webb said, the consultant calculated that the roughly 12,000 households in the region were already paying an average of $125 a month for Internet and other telecommunication services – an amount that adds up to $18 million a year that people “are putting in an envelope and sending outside of your region.”

The most recent announcement relating to the project discusses how a recent federal broadband stimulus grant to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute will aid the Wired West network.

This will enable a robustmiddle-mile network to be built by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) in Western and North-Central Massachusetts that will serve 123 communities.

The end of June brought an end to an initial phase of the Wired West campaign for real broadband in rural Massachusetts. When we previously looked in on the Wired West efforts, they had 39 towns supporting the idea. By June 26th, that number had grown to 47. The local paper outlined the overwhelming support and next steps.

Once the non-profit has been formed, financing options would have to be identified, and preliminary design and cost estimate work would start. None of the cost of the project would be borne by the towns, Webb said. Ongoing maintenance cost and debt service payments would come from money paid to the agency by the service providers, added Andrew Michael Cohill, president of Design Nine, a consultancy hired to help WiredWest through the next phase of development.

A previous article discussed a cost estimate of the network and how much money residents send outside their community for service.

Monica Webb, a spokesperson for WiredWest, said that a consultant who met last year with representatives from Mount Washington and 10 other towns in southern Berkshire County estimated the cost of building a fiber-optic network for that region at $27 million. But, Webb said, the consultant calculated that the roughly 12,000 households in the region were already paying an average of $125 a month for Internet and other telecommunication services – an amount that adds up to $18 million a year that people “are putting in an envelope and sending outside of your region.”

The most recent announcement relating to the project discusses how a recent federal broadband stimulus grant to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute will aid the Wired West network.

This will enable a robustmiddle-mile network to be built by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) in Western and North-Central Massachusetts that will serve 123 communities.

Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011. KMOV in St. Louis covered the network:

The entire concept is expected to cost $13 million. About $9 million of the start-up costs will be funded by bonds - a move voters signed off on last year.

Video:

Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011. KMOV in St. Louis covered the network:

The entire concept is expected to cost $13 million. About $9 million of the start-up costs will be funded by bonds - a move voters signed off on last year.

Video:

Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011. KMOV in St. Louis covered the network:

The entire concept is expected to cost $13 million. About $9 million of the start-up costs will be funded by bonds - a move voters signed off on last year.

Video:

Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011. KMOV in St. Louis covered the network:

The entire concept is expected to cost $13 million. About $9 million of the start-up costs will be funded by bonds - a move voters signed off on last year.

Video:

Back in early March, Highland Illinois, broke ground on its publicly owned FTTH network project. Plans call for connecting some businesses by the end of this year and connecting everyone by the end of 2011. KMOV in St. Louis covered the network:

The entire concept is expected to cost $13 million. About $9 million of the start-up costs will be funded by bonds - a move voters signed off on last year.

Video:

Lake Minnetonka Communication Commission -- a group representing a number of suburban communities located west of Minneapolis -- is seeking to build a community-owned FTTH network. LMCC has decided not to seek funds from the broadband stimulus programs and instead seek private funding (likely from a revenue bond offering). Much like Lafayette in Louisiana, these communities mostly have access to broadband already, but it is slow and overpriced. They are motivated to build a faster network that responds to community needs. As is common with community networks, they have a significant hurdle in finding the start-up funding needed to pursue full funding for the project. Before they can approach the bond markets, they need to establish a business plan and demonstrate they are capable of building and operating the network. These costs can be substantial, but will be repaid after a successful bond offering. We've added Tonka Connect to the links in the right sidebar and wish them the best of luck.

Lake Minnetonka Communication Commission -- a group representing a number of suburban communities located west of Minneapolis -- is seeking to build a community-owned FTTH network. LMCC has decided not to seek funds from the broadband stimulus programs and instead seek private funding (likely from a revenue bond offering). Much like Lafayette in Louisiana, these communities mostly have access to broadband already, but it is slow and overpriced. They are motivated to build a faster network that responds to community needs. As is common with community networks, they have a significant hurdle in finding the start-up funding needed to pursue full funding for the project. Before they can approach the bond markets, they need to establish a business plan and demonstrate they are capable of building and operating the network. These costs can be substantial, but will be repaid after a successful bond offering. We've added Tonka Connect to the links in the right sidebar and wish them the best of luck.

Lake Minnetonka Communication Commission -- a group representing a number of suburban communities located west of Minneapolis -- is seeking to build a community-owned FTTH network. LMCC has decided not to seek funds from the broadband stimulus programs and instead seek private funding (likely from a revenue bond offering). Much like Lafayette in Louisiana, these communities mostly have access to broadband already, but it is slow and overpriced. They are motivated to build a faster network that responds to community needs. As is common with community networks, they have a significant hurdle in finding the start-up funding needed to pursue full funding for the project. Before they can approach the bond markets, they need to establish a business plan and demonstrate they are capable of building and operating the network. These costs can be substantial, but will be repaid after a successful bond offering. We've added Tonka Connect to the links in the right sidebar and wish them the best of luck.