|
WesternMA Connect, Inc. (formerly Berkshire Connect, Inc. and Pioneer Valley Connect) is a regional non-profit organization whose mission is to support the creation of an advanced telecommunications landscape that will provide affordable, reliable and redundant high capacity broadband services throughout Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties. WesternMA Connect, Inc. believes that access to these telecommunications services is vital to spur economic development, improve public health and safety communication, enhance government efficiency, and increase quality educational opportunities.
For more than a decade, each Connect organization led efforts to encourage the deployment of infrastructure and access to broadband services for businesses, governments, and residents in unserved areas. Throughout, they recognized their shared challenges and opportunities. With the support of the John Adams Innovation Institute, they began a formal collaborative effort in 2005 to address broadband access inequity in western Massachusetts. Their exploration into a regional solution to achieve more efficient and effective results laid the foundation for the creation of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute.
In 2009, Pioneer Valley Connect dissolved and secured representation on the Berkshire Connect Board of Directors. To better reflect the magnitude of the region it serves and the scope of its activities, Berkshire Connect, Inc. changed its name to WesternMA Connect, Inc.
|
|
|
