WARWICK — To support an upgrade of Warwick’s town-owned wireless network, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute recently approved a $450,000 Last Mile program grant to the town.
Warwick Broadband Committee Chairman Tom Wyatt said the funds will be used to replace existing transceivers with relay equipment between towers and residences. Upgrading and expanding the existing system — which serves nearly 200 customers — is the best option for the town, he said.
“As far as Warwick is concerned, it’s good news,” Wyatt said. “It allows us to expand and upgrade our current wireless internet system to reach the state-required high speed of 25 megabits, which is substantially faster than anything we offer now. We’ll be utilizing LTE technology. It’ll be available for all permanent residents of town.”
Warwick will oversee the design, construction and operation of the network upgrade. According to an MBI press release, the total construction estimate for the project is $690,000, of which $450,000 will be paid for through the Last Mile program grant, and the remaining $240,000 is being financed by Warwick.
At May’s town meeting, voters approved borrowing the $240,000, and the Broadband Committee began installing the new equipment in June.
Wyatt and Young estimated the work will continue for the next year, and said 15 percent of existing customers have already been upgraded.
“The main difference is now we have the grant funding for the LTE, which will allow us to get everywhere to all permanent residents,” he said.
http://www.recorder.com/Warwick-works-to-improve-Internet-speeds-4723476
Wyatt said it’s not currently physically possible for all residents to have high-speed internet service, and the grant will help Warwick attain “true broadband for today’s needs.” Some residents get under a megabit per second (Mb/s), while others get as much as 10 megabits per second.
Wyatt noted that the advances in the town’s broadband network “wouldn’t have been possible without the extensive efforts of the Warwick broadband staff over many years.”
“It’s been a success story over many years, and now we’ve just had another big success,” he said.
Warwick is one of three towns to receive a total of $1.9 million in grants. MBI allocated $288,775 in grant funding to Alford and another $1,145,975 to Otis, according to the release.
“Warwick is grateful to the Commonwealth for this support,” Town Coordinator and Broadband System Administrator David Young said. “We really appreciate the flexibility MBI has showed communities who are striving to meet the challenge of providing broadband to their residents. Solutions to the problem are many, and we appreciate being assisted in our efforts to enhance our wireless approach.”
The grant funding, approved Tuesday by MBI’s Board of Directors, is part of the administration’s commitment to ensuring broadband access to over 40 Last Mile towns in Massachusetts unserved by broadband internet access.
“Broadband internet is important in today’s economy, for our students, small business owners and residents across the Commonwealth,” Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito is quoted as saying in the release. “We are committed to ensuring unserved towns in Massachusetts are able to secure broadband service in a manner that fits their town’s individual needs and goals.”
Before being distributed the awards will go for final approval at the next meeting of the Executive Committee of the MassTech Board of Directors.