GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington received a boost with a $250,000 grant for installation of fiber optic cable to serve Housatonic village center, including Route 183 between the village and Stockbridge Road.

 

The grant will pay a portion of the $700,000 total cost of installation; the 2023 Annual Town Meeting approved a matching amount of $250,000, and Fiber Connect of Egremont, the project vendor, will cover the remaining costs.

 

The service will be available to residential and commercial customers who sign up with Fiber Connect.

 

Announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration last week, Great Barrington was one of 53 municipalities across the Commonwealth that were awarded a total of $9 million in FY24 grants through the Community Compact Municipal Fiber grant program.

 

"We thank the Governor and her administration for this grant. This will help deliver a project that will be a big win for a number of reasons. First, businesses and households in the Village will benefit from access to top quality telecommunications infrastructure for work, for school and other 21st century needs," Chris Rembold, assistant town manager and director of community planning and development said," Second, this project will connect municipal buildings and emergency facilities in Housatonic with those in Great Barrington. And, this will provide a fiber optic-backed WiFi network in the Village, helping to plug cell phone dead spots and signal gaps that many experience in Housatonic."

 

Following a competitive RFP process, the Town selected Berkshire Fiber Connect to perform the work and operate the network. 

 

"Fiber Connect is proud to partner with the Town of Great Barrington on this crucial initiative, ensuring that the Village of Housatonic gains access to advanced fiber optic technology for its future growth and connectivity. We are dedicated to building a network that supports the community's immediate and long-term telecommunications needs," Berkshire Fiber Connect CEO Adam Chait said. 

 

Fiber Connect anticipates offering service to residential customers based at 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) download speed and 250 Mbps upload speed for $99/month, and, for business customers, 1 Gbps download speed and 500 Mbps upload speed for $149/month.

 

The $700,000 includes funds for other utilities to make space on utility poles, and to actually string the fiber optic cable.

 

The Municipal Fiber Grant Program offers competitive grants to support the closing of critical gaps that exist in municipal networks. Awards are focused on connecting municipality-owned facilities and assisting municipalities in achieving critical goals associated with municipal fiber networks, including protection from the growing risk of cyber security exploits targeting local government, the expansion of remote work and meeting the expectations of constituents who enjoy the convenience of interacting with government online.