Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 6/22/2022
AMHERST – The town of Amherst recently announced it had secured a nearly $300,000 grant from the Baker-Polito administration to extend its existing municipal fiber network to provide fast, reliable and secure network connectivity to Pelham’s municipal and school facilities and some additional Amherst locations.
The grant proposal was submitted by the Information Technology (IT) Department and the Office of Communications to the Community Compact Cabinet Municipal Fiber grant program, an initiative distributing $13 million in grants to benefit 86 municipalities and school districts across Massachusetts.
According to the proposal, the grant will provide cost savings and updated technology to the Mt. Lincoln public safety radio tower, Pelham Elementary School, Pelham Library, Pelham Town Hall, Pelham Public Safety Complex and the Amherst Centennial Water Treatment Plant. The application said network speeds at the school will be 40 times faster with the ability to increase in the future. It also said the radio tower serves as the primary transmission site for Amherst and Pelham public safety resources, providing critical radio coverage.
“Currently there is a costly lease of aging dry copper circuit approaching obsolescence provided by a private utility,” the application said. “With the current connectivity, we are not notified in detail of system failures or issues unless we send someone to the physical location to assess.”
IT Director Sean Hannon said the Amherst Centennial Water Treatment Plant currently has no network connectivity but will now have the ability to be remotely monitored as well as new security cameras and a door access system.
“The fiber network we are installing gives us private secure connectivity from municipal buildings and sites in Amherst to municipal buildings and sites in Pelham,” Hannon said. “We have an existing fiber network in Amherst so adding Pelham is an upgrade. We are saving money because we can eliminate services we pay for from Verizon and [the Massachusetts Broadband Institute].”
The introduction to the proposal stated that the existing fiber network installed by the town of Amherst connects 26 town and school buildings and was initiated to “move away from reliance on Comcast I-Net.” It added the proposed expansion would close critical gaps that exist and allow for a cohesive municipal network and regional resource sharing between Amherst and Pelham.
According to a press release from the town, the expansion will provide “dramatic service improvements and replace soon-to-be-obsolete public safety technology, reducing potential downtime of this critical service. The town of Pelham will add high-speed and secure links between its key public buildings, allowing for centralized IT services.
“We are pleased that the state found our application compelling and worthy of funding,” Hannon said. “This project will enhance our existing investments to significantly save money and improve services for years to come in Amherst and Pelham.”