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Massachusetts Tackles Broadband Black Holes
$25m project funded by general obligation bonds...
(old news - 09:11AM Thursday Aug 02 2007)
tags: coverage · business
Tipped by John Galt See Profile
Several members of the communities we've profiled in Massachusetts have alerted us that the state is on the brink of unveiling a new broadband plan to help get service into these rural areas. While state officials wouldn't comment because the plan hasn't been officially released yet, the Boston Globe has some details on the $25 million effort:
Click for full size
The Broadband Incentive Plan, which the administration intends to fund through general obligation bonds, will be managed by a new division within the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The plan is designed to create a new incentive for private industry by underwriting part of the costs of providing service in rural areas.
A recent study showed that while Verizon or Comcast (sometimes only one) serve 90% of the state, there are still 32 towns where no providers offer broadband Internet access. An additional 63 municipalities have incomplete coverage.

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Forums » Massachusetts Tackles Broadband Black Holes
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.

join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
·Cingular Wireless

bizarro....

I thought MA was a lot more dense than that. they actually have rural areas? If they call those black holes, then the rural areas in OK must be in an entirely different universe!
--
"WHEN THE LAUGH TRACK STARTS THEN THE FUN STARTS!"
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: bizarro....

Western, MA and OK only differ in the distance they have to drive to actually be "somewhere". They're both "the middle of nowhere".

That being said, I notice my town is listed as a Duopoly when it shouldn't qualify, since Verizon can only offer 768k DSL because the CO that serves us is in Lawrence. (which is why we'll never get FIOS either)

printscreen

join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR

Re: bizarro....

Why not? There is FIOS in Lawrence. N. Andover is just a short distance away.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: bizarro....

said by printscreen See Profile :

Why not? There is FIOS in Lawrence.
That's news to me.

printscreen

join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR


edit:
August 3rd, @11:41PM

Re: bizarro....

A friend of mine lives there and is considering getting FIOS after she got some offer or promotion. And I have visited Lawrence a few times, last visit was last month. I noticed some new aerial installations in many areas of the city that I thought were newer cable TV plant but later saw Verizon people working with them. There were many boxes in poles with fiber cables going into them. Too bad I didn't take a picture of one of them. I did find a picture on the Internet. You will see these things all over Lawrence.

»www.bruce.wells.name/fios/thepolemarked.jpg

Have not found a picture of the large boxes in the poles conected to these black boxes in some places.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: bizarro....

I did see that Lawrence was trying to approve Fios TV. I don't think they are wired yet. (probably in process) I haven't yet found ANYONE who actually HAS fios in Lawrence. (I live maybe 100 feet from the Lawrence/North Andover line) Of course Verizon also claims North Andover has FIOS because a few people on the Andover line are the Andover CO and are able to get FIOS. So I'll believe it when some people actually report that they have it.

printscreen

join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR

Re: bizarro....

Then they are probably building the fiber infrastructure at this time. I did see a few Verizon crews here and there during my stay in Lawrence last month.

stephenju
Premium
join:2002-05-17
Bedford, MA

The loop...

quote:
...will be managed by a new division within the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Allocate budget -> create new government organization to manage the budget -> use all of the budget on the new organization itself -> ask for more budget -> create even bigger organization ...

Well, at least they create more jobs this way.

AnonProxy
Proxy of Anon
Premium
join:2001-05-12
ß

Rural in regards to density and service

These are as rural as you get in terms of service and population density on much of the east coast.
It doesn't have to be "big" to be rural.
Basically, Verizon et al have ignored much of the western part of the state due to density (or really lack there of).

In a nearby town, they can not even get regular PHONE SERVICE, let alone broadband.

erikthebean

join:2007-06-25
Manchester, NH

HEY!!

Yea im from mass and trust me it is extremely rural...along with the rest of new england

halfband
Premium
join:2002-06-01
Huntsville, AL
·Comcast

Re: HEY!!

Anything below about 30 users per linear mile is not very attractive to the cable/telcos.
In the south our rural areas are often 2-5 per mile areas. At about $10 per foot of capital investment to hard wire up an area, it is not going to happen anytime soon. Wireless is the only possible option.
Now the gap between 5-30 per mile sometimes gets handled by the smaller providers, but it is real hit or miss and none of them are going to be running FTTH any time soon.
--
Registered Bandwidth Offender #40812

pende_tim
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Andover, NJ

Perfect for USF

This seems like a funding need that could be very easily justified from the Universal Service Fund.
--
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

DoctorDoom
Troll hunter
Premium
join:2006-09-19
Becket, MA

Rural Massachusetts

In the Berkshires, where Becket (cited in the article) is located, there are large "rural" areas dues to the terrain. Where I live, 4 miles west of Becket center, there are two and only two choices: dialup at 28.8 Kbps max (usually slower) or satellite. Given that the Web is becoming inaccessible to dialup users—websites simply assume that everyone is on broadband—I switched to Hughes. It's not perfection, but it beats the phone lines.

Verizon at one time had a plan to extend broadband here, but abandoned the idea because FIOS in areas already saturated with broadband is more profitable.

I've seen this talk before, and I'm a skeptic. IMO, the likelihood of broadband in those 32 unserved towns is approximately equal to that of an invasion from Mars.
romulusnr

join:2007-08-01
Federal Way, WA

everything is relative

heh... "Rural" in Massachusetts equates to "dense suburb" in much of the rest of the country.

WALL_E
Premium
join:2003-05-28
USA

Makes Sense

Compare the ISP map to a map of population density, and it mostly makes sense.

Fortunately for me I live in a suburb of the densely populated area surrounding Springfield in Western Massachusetts, so I do have HSI. Unfortunately for me my area is serviced by Charter.
--
Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don't even own a TV.
gordonjones

join:2002-09-02
Framingham, MA

Can FIOS Break Cable146;s Stranglehold?

on a related note - story on the Verizon's attempt to break into the local towns:

Can FIOS Break Cable’s Stranglehold? (from ElectronicHouse.com)
Forums » Massachusetts Tackles Broadband Black Holes


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