BRPC Economic and Community Development staff are supporting the state’s broadband agency, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), and communities across Berkshire County to realize state, regional, and municipal-level digital equity efforts.
BRPC’s primary work has focused on writing Municipal Digital Access Plans. A Municipal Digital Access Plan involves identifying the digital access (broadband – fiber or cable), adoption (digital skills), and affordability (internet service and computer devices) needs of a town’s residents and the assets (organizations and resources) the town has to address those needs, then devising solutions to close the gap between the two.
By making internet access, devices, and digital skills available to all, towns can also address issues like healthcare access, education, jobs, civic engagement, and social connection.
The communities BRPC has supported with digital access planning include:
- Becket
- Clarksburg
- Dalton
- Great Barrington
- Lee
- Lenox
- Monterey
- New Marlborough
- Otis
- Pittsfield
- Sheffield
- Stockbridge
- Washington
- West Stockbridge
- Windsor
Following the publication of Plans, BRPC staff work with town leaders to craft actionable strategies that let them implement key plan recommendations aligned with one or more of the MBI-funded categories below:
- Staff Capacity
- Wi-Fi Access and Innovative Connectivity Technology
- Public Space Modernization
- Connectivity for Economic Hardship
- Digital Literacy
- Device Distribution and Refurbishment
- Education, Outreach, and Adoption