Advocates for a public, high-speed municipal network for Northampton Massachusetts
During a virtual meeting on Zoom with Northampton Neighbors on Monday, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra answered some of our coalition’s questions regarding a municipal network. Watch the video below. It only takes a few minutes. Among the mayor’s points: No funds are in the city’s budget related to municipal broadband because expenditures related to this will …
In this post we look at various ways the city could manage a municipal network. There are a lot of choices, but one thing is clear: to do it, the city will create a municipal light plant (MLP). It’s this entity that will have authority to manage a municipal network. In last November’s election, voters …
In this post, we look at the concern that there might not be sufficient expertise in city government to create and manage a municipal network, causing it to cost too much or to fail. Northampton has about 30,000 residents and 10,000 households. So it’s reasonable to wonder if the size and scope of a municipal …
It’s a question we keep getting asked: what’s the latest on a municipal network for Northampton? It’s a good question. We’re working to get the most up-to-date information, which we’ll share here. You may recall Question 1 on last November’s City ballot. 91% of those voting on the question authorized the City to create a …
Note: to clarify, if the City builds a municipal network, you will not be required to join it. If you are happy with Comcast or wireless ISPs locally, you can keep them. In our last post, we looked at the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model for municipal networks. With this model, potentially any Internet …
Last November, 91.3% of Northampton voters gave the city permission to create a municipal light plant (MLP). An MLP is the entity that would establish and manage a municipal/community network for the city. It’s now likely to happen not only because of the vote, but also because new Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has said she is …
It’s time for Comcast to improve its bottom line again: it’s raising rates. This is welcome news for Comcast shareholders, but likely not for you. For the Northampton area, you can see its new rate sheet effective December 20, 2021 to get an idea of how you will be affected. You will likely find it …
In city elections held on Tuesday, Northampton voters overwhelmingly gave the city permission to create a municipal light plant (MLP). An MLP is a legal entity that can be used by municipalities in Massachusetts to create municipal networks. Based on preliminary results, 7426 Yes votes were cast and 705 No votes were cast. This is …
Two new things to note on the city’s updated municipal broadband page: You can read the order that puts Question 1 on allowing the city to create a municipal light plant. You will see it soon enough on your city ballot. Make sure to turn over the ballot and vote on the question. Naturally, we …
Thanks to all who rose to the challenge to meet our unexpected fundraising gap. You contributed $805 on October 29th and 30th, so we are now at 110% of our goal! We have completely met the additional expense of mailing postcards to all Northampton residents and businesses! All this is thanks to you and your …