Broadband forum tackles ways to get locals online

BYLINE: By Christopher Marcisz, Berkshire Eagle Staff

STOCKBRIDGE -- About a third of Western Massachusetts residents still have no access to broadband Internet service, and the cost and technology challenges of getting it are a long-standing problem.

This was the topic of a forum last night at the Red Lion Inn, where about 40 people -- many of whom volunteered in an informal poll that they are stuck with dial-up service -- discussed the problem, calling for more action to bring the entire Berkshires into the broadband era.

The meeting was sponsored by state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and Berkshire Connect Inc., a coalition of businesses, and political and community leaders formed in 2000 to boost the region's telecommunications landscape.

It was funded as part of a $300,000 grant awarded to Berkshire Connect and Pioneer Valley Connect -- known as the "Connects" -- by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Sharon Ferry, Berkshire Connect's business manager, explained that the money is to help define the problem and to create a plan to solve it.

How broadband works

The forum began with a presentation by Connects Chief Technology Officer Chip Brodeur, who explained the structure of the Internet, beginning with the network of systems linked via fiber optic cables at "Points of Presence," or POPs. The sole interface for all of Western Massachusetts is in Springfield.

From there, it is a matter of "backhaul" networks that deliver service to "central offices," which are usually in a town's center. And from there to the subscribers' homes -- the so-called "last mile" -- is where most problems lie for many rural households, because the nearest central office can be a town or two away.

The system, which relies on copper wire, is designed for voice rather than data transmission. In rural communities, where cable modem service is not an option, dial-up is necessary, a service Brodeur described as "a fight against physics."

Consultant Doug Norton explained the wireless technologies available, their potential for solving the problem and their limits.

'Mesh' networks

One solution is "mesh" networks, the type of systems that Boston is planning to unveil. It uses smaller transmitters set up on city-owned property such as streetlights, and which relay data up the chain to other nearby stations until it reaches a backhaul connection.

But it is a system designed for urban centers. "It could work maybe for the 25 houses in the center of town, but once you go down those side roads, you have a problem," Norton said.

And that began a lengthy question-and-answer period. The audience wanted to know which solutions could work in the Berkshires and what kinds of public and private partnerships it would take to accomplish those goals.

Pignatelli noted that, for far too long, people in Boston have thought that "rural is Fitchburg," and that the major telecommunications companies have little incentive to help farther afield. He said that the matter has been discussed for years and asked what specifically could be done.

State fund may assist

Christa Proper, vice president and general manager of Richmond NetWorx, which provides DSL (digital subscriber line) service in several communities, said that part of the solution might be a state-mandated universal service fund to create incentives for such offerings. This type of fund has been used to get DSL service for libraries and rural health centers.

Proper said that Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, has been working on the details of such a service.

Brodeur said the solution probably will involve some kind of subsidy or other incentive to get companies aboard. "You need to put a carrot out there."

But many in the audience were not convinced that that would be enough. One Mount Washington resident said that some communities received telephone service only because the public utilities then in place were required by the state to do so.

In the age of deregulation, there has been little impetus for publicly traded companies to provide service for everyone.

"There is a public outcry for doing this kind of technology," the resident said, noting the sizable attendance at the meeting.

"Maybe we need carrots and sticks," one Becket resident said later in the meeting.

Pignatelli said that the Berkshire legislative delegation is committed to the idea. He noted that state Sen.-elect Benjamin B. Downing was in the audience, and that Gov.-elect Deval L. Patrick owns a home in Richmond.

Michael Forbes Wilcox, an Alford resident who is serving on Patrick's economic development transition team, said the concerns are being heard loud and clear.

"The new dynamic here is we have a governor who will support this initiative," he said.

Berkshire Connect will host another broadband forum on Jan. 18 at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.

Christopher Marcisz can be reached at cmarcisz@berkshireeagle.com or at (413) 664-4995.

Published Nov. 30, 2006