Bridging the digital divide in WMass

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (wwlp) - The Governor has a plan to "connect the unconnected" to High Speed Internet here in western Massachusetts.

In Northampton Wednesday night, some 50 people attended the Massachusetts Broadband Institute community meeting to provide an update on the "MassBroadband 1-2-3" fiber-optic network.

"MassBroadband 1-2-3" will expand high speed internet access to 120 central and western Massachusetts communities where less than half the customers have access to high speed internet.

A man only identified as "Chris from Huntington," lives near State Forest lands, and the cable doesn't reach his house. He complained during the public speak out at Smith College, "I live on the fringe of town. Way far away. Why should I be optimistic that, some time in the near future, I'm gonna have access to high speed internet?"

But director of the Mass Broadband Institute, Judy Dumont, said Chris is exactly the person the MBI hopes to help by bridging the digital divide.

"High speed internet is taken for granted in many parts of the state. And if you don't have it, you're almost like a second class citizen," Dumont said.

Dumont told 22News there will be seven more of these meetings in western and central Massachusetts over the next month to update people on the MBI's progress. And while this summer's stormy and damaging weather has slowed progress, they hope to have the I-91 corridor operational by the end of 2011.