image description — Gateway Fiber officials, Mayor Peter Marchetti and city and 1Berkshire staff cut a ceremonial ribbon at the Colonial Theatre to welcome Gateway to the city.

Gateway Fiber Begins Expansion to Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:19PM / Tuesday, July 22, 2025Print Story | Email Story

Derek Leffert of Gateway Fiber, left, says the company is investing millions into Pittsfield to provide a better internet service.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents will have more competition for internet service with a new provider coming to the city.

On Tuesday, a ribbon cutting marked Gateway Fiber's start of construction in Pittsfield. The fiber-optic network will offer subscription plans ranging from $65 to $150 per month, depending on speed.

"We recognize Pittsfield as a very great opportunity for us," Head of Safety and Government Affairs Derek Leffert said.

The company has begun construction on networks in Northampton and Gardner, and Pittsfield is next, and Leffert said the city's not just getting internet — it's getting a better experience.

"Our mission is to improve the communities that we serve with a better internet experience. We all know that whether it's telehealth, whether it's education, whether it's remote work, whatever it is that people are struggling with right now, we're offering a great service to the community," he said.

"Not only are we a reliable service and a very cost-effective service, but we're also very committed to doing what we say we're going to do, and that shows in the reviews."

The fiber-optic network with multi-gig symmetrical internet speeds is said to be "faster and more reliable than traditional cable and telephone-based internet." Gateway Fiber offers flat-rate, month-to-month pricing, Leffert said. "We believe in the service that we offer, and we're very, very proud of what we do, so we don't require contracts because our service will speak for itself."

Mayor Peter Marchetti said internet access is a necessary resource for everyone, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, when people became reliant on it for work and staying connected with family.

"We know all these services come at a cost, and it's important that we have options in our community to kind of decide where we are," he said.

"We understand that even in 2025, there's a digital disconnect, and that not every resident has access to these imperative services. Gateway Fiber will be in Pittsfield, providing another option for members of the community to be able to take advantage of."

He explained that, in addition to Gateway Fiber, the city has undertaken steps to close the digital divide. Last year, Pittsfield received a $99,972 Digital Equity Implementation Grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to expand public wi-fi to Durant Park, bring wayfinding for wi-fi to the downtown area, and fund a digital equity ambassador to get the word out to the community.

Residents will be kept up to date as Gateway Fiber begins construction in their area with door hangers informing them of the progress and how to reach out with questions.

Leffert reported "a lot" of preparation over the last couple of years to get to the construction phase. The company plans to work through the rest of the year to get Pittsfield connected.

"So that's what we've been doing, investing millions right here in Pittsfield," he said. "We're going to do everything we say we're going to do."

He said Gateway will operate with transparency and stay connected through social media, digital initiatives, and signage, adding, "we're investing in the community, and we want to be a good community partner."

Pittsfield will join a couple of dozen other communities throughout Western Massachusetts that Gateway Fiber has expanded to, as well as the Cape Cod area.

"Gateway has been here and will continue to be here for the long haul, and we are committed to success here in Massachusetts," Leffert said.

Gateway Fiber Operating LLC is based out of Missouri, and the company has an office and warehouse in Chicopee.

Tags: Internet, ribbon cutting,

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PCTV is Turning 40

By Breanna SteeleiBekshires Staff
03:30PM / Monday, September 14, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television is turning 40 this week, and it's celebrating with its viewers and listeners.

This Friday, Sept. 18, PCTV will celebrate at the Berkshire Hills Country Club. Ryan Peterson, WTEN News10 ABC anchor and Pittsfield High School graduate, will give the keynote address.

Executive Director Shawn Serre, who has been with the station for over 32 years, said it's their chance to celebrate all they have been able to bring to the community.

"It's a chance to reflect on everything that the organization has done over those years, all the people that have been involved. From board members to volunteers to producers to crew people to staff members, and all the different programs that we've produced," he said. "Everything from public programming to education, sports, graduations, parades, government meetings and forums, and election night coverage, and all kinds of other things that just year upon year of history that we've been able to create and document here for the Pittsfield community over those years."

Serre took over as executive director about nine years ago. Originally a volunteer fresh out of college.

The original board included former mayor Edward Reilly, Dan Dillon, Diane Morgenstern, Bernard Avalle, and John Fukes of the Berkshire Athenaeum. The operation was all-volunteer until PCTV hired the first executive director in January 1989.

PCTV has operated out of its station on Federico Drive since 1999. But originally they worked out of a basement.

"The first location that we ever had, we had all of our equipment stored in cardboard boxes in the basement of the Berkshire Athenaeum, because the Berkshire Athenaeum at the time was very gracious and allowed us to have some space while we sort of got our feet on the ground and sort of got things organized," he said. "But we had no location. We had no studio. We just had this equipment that was ordered with the money that we had from the original cable franchise grant."

"So that lasted a couple of years, and then we signed and got a lease over in our first studio location, which was over on Fourth Street in Pittsfield," Serre continued. "That was around the time that I first got involved, just before we moved to Fourth Street. So I was there in the basement of the library, opening those boxes up and seeing what we had for equipment. So we stayed there at Fourth Street for about 10 years, and then this building that we're currently in now, over on Federico Drive, was constructed in 1998. It was built kind of custom-made for the cable company and for us and for one other company."

Serre said one of their proudest moments was saving the radio station WTBR-FM back in 2018. PCTV made space for them so they could continue operation.

"We carved out some space here in our facility for that, and we've been operating that radio station ever since. So those are some of the big milestones of growth of the organization over the years, and the things that we've done," he said.

They have also invested in advanced technology to keep their programming accessible to all.

"Technologically, there's another whole series of things that we've gone through," he said. "We've started out with a single cable TV channel. We grew to three cable TV channels. We started out as standard definition on videotape, and we grew to digital, and then to high definition, and then everything went to the internet. So we're able to offer video on demand and live streams and video on social media. And then with the radio station, we also have a live stream there and podcasting. So we've seen a lot of technological change and tried to roll with that over the years."

Serre said that PCTV strives to keep people informed while also allowing space for people to create their own media.

"The whole idea behind PEG [Public Education and Government Access]...the whole idea behind that back in the 70s and 80s was that people could be left behind with the technology that's available to the big corporations," he said. "So, if you had a cable system at the time, ordinary people maybe they had camcorders at home, but they didn't have access to a TV studio; they didn't have access to the kind of technology that we had to allow them to create programs and share it with the community. So we filled that gap, and that was one of the main things that we did. And then also to be able to create programming for viewers and for the city, so that the municipal meetings can be shown, and so school committee meetings can be shown, and it really brings people in and involved."

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