Five Massachusetts towns band together in redundant broadband network

A new broadband network for Colrain, Charlemont, Heath, Leyden, and Rowe (MA) that prevents major outages and improves the resiliency of internet access will be completed by June 30, 2023. The system creates three backhauls and a 10-gigabyte circuit connection shared between the towns: one in Rowe, one in Charlemont, and one in Leyden. The project also increases redundancy to prevent internet outages caused by downed utility poles, fires, or other natural disasters. Jack Golden, broadband manager in Leyden, described the broadband as a water pipe and the backhaul as the water that runs through those pipes. Colrain received a $400,000 grant from the Community Compact Cabinet Municipal Fiber Grant program in July 2022 to pay for the new redundant broadband network. The grant was the second largest awarded from this program. Currently, all five towns have their own separate broadband networks without redundancy. The new broadband system uses a redundancy network that offers multiple lines for data and information to travel through. If one connection goes down, the network will stay intact.