WiredWest Vision Statement
The Internet is now a necessity, not a luxury. To sustain our communities in Western Massachusetts, we must have a world-class communications infrastructure that is on par with our neighbors to the east and with communities across the nation and the world. We need a choice of service providers with multiple products and the competition to keep prices affordable. Residents and businesses must have the ability to freely access content and commerce and bridge the digital divide in our region. Building a universal, open-access, fiber-to-the-homefinancially self-sustaining and municipally-owned, will fundamentally improve the prospects for our communities, ensuring they remain diverse, vibrant and prosperous today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future.
Visit their website to find detailed information on the organization; the project; FAQ; how you can help; and resources.
2010 Town Warrant Articles, Informational Meetings and Town Meetings
WiredWest is building a multi-town organization that will bring high speed internet to every resident, business and institution in the unserved and underserved communities of Western Massachusetts.
In order for towns to officially join those discussions, each town needs to have an article on the town warrant to be passed at the town meeting, with an expression of intent to enter into discussions. Note that the article is NOT a binding agreement to join the project – it is merely the town’s official expression of intent to join the discussion preceding the formal agreement. Please see here for the warrant article wording.
To see if your town has agreed to put it on your town warrant, please see this map. If the map indicates your town has not already approved putting the article on the 2010 warrant,WiredWest urges you to contact your Select Board now to voice your support.
In advance of town meetings, WiredWest will be giving educational presentations in each town to provide detailed first-hand information on the project. Once the dates are confirmed for each town, they will be forwarded around and posted on the website.
Your Participation
If you would like to be more involved with the WiredWest initiative, they have six committees: Governance, Finance, Data, Technical Oversight, SelectBoard Outreach and Marketing/Outreach. In particular, they have some towns that need a liaison, as part of our Select Board Outreach committee. If your town appears in grey (In initial target region) on this map, they need someone who can serve as a contact with your Select Board and local citizens.
To get involved email your contact information and committee of interest to info@wired-west.net.
