COLRAIN — Following this month’s broadband committee resignation, the Board of Selectmen are forming a new broadband panel to help in Colrain’s process to secure technical assistance and grant money from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s Last Mile project.
Francis Ryan of Dwight Cross Road came to the board Wednesday afternoon as the first volunteer to request an appointment to a future broadband committee.
“When I read the committee resigned, I felt it was time for people in town to get involved. That’s what has to happen,” said Ryan. Ryan said he works at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant and has worked with electronics all his life.
He told selectmen one of his goals for the town is to get an internet service provider that would also offer bundled television, telephone and internet services, so that those who don’t want internet could still use the town’s fiber optic network for “voice over internet protocol” telephone and for television — ditching their satellite dishes and the more expensive combination of separate phone, internet and cable TV bills. Ryan said he now pays $260 per month for all three services and believes elderly residents would benefit from broadband and the cost savings — even if they don’t want internet.
Residents who want to join the new broadband committee should contact Town Coordinator Kevin Fox, so that a new committee can be appointed at the selectmen’s next meeting on Aug. 10.
Earlier this month, seven members of the former broadband committee members refused to be reappointed to the committee because of a communication breakdown between the boards. In May, selectmen voted to withdraw from WiredWest municipal collaborative, and did not notify the broadband committee of that meeting.