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Bridging the Digital Divide |
We are pleased to announce an important initiative for the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) in its effort to bring affordable, high-speed Internet to western and north central Massachusetts. Today, the MBI issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a network operator to run the MBI's proposed fiber-optic network, which will connect 123 communities in the most underserved part of the state. The MBI will own the open-access network, which will allow last-mile providers to connect to the middle-mile infrastructure and bring broadband services to homes, community institutions and businesses. There will be a Bidder's Conference on June 30, 2010 at the MBI's headquarters in Westborough. The RFP responses must be received by 5 p.m. on August 6, 2010. The network operator will be responsible for all network operations, including network monitoring, maintenance and repair. In February, the MBI issued a request for information (RFI) for input from potential network operators on how to structure the public-private alliance between the MBI and the network operator. The RFI responses were used to create the RFP. The MBI's federal stimulus application, MassBroadband 123, is currently under review by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This critical part of the process will determine if MassBroadband 123 receives funding by the Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program (BTOP) created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The awards will be announced on a rolling basis, with all awards being announced by September 30, 2010. For more information on MassBroadband 123 and other MBI broadband initiatives please visit www.massbroadband.org.
Massachusetts Broadband Institute is a division of MTC |
