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Date: 10/17/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Progress is being made regarding closing the digital equity divide in the city of Springfield.
The City Council Working Group on Digital Equity & Internet Access, chaired by Ward 2 City Councilor Michael Fenton, met on Oct. 11 to discuss the digital equity plan that is underway.
Fenton said the committee has been hard at work with its consultants, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, to develop a scope for the digital equity plan.
The scope of work has been drafted and reviewed by Fenton, along with a few others, to provide comments.
On the day of the meeting, the final scope of work was approved, which the PVPC expects will cost “quite a bit of money,” Fenton said. That money will come from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute specifically — not the city — in order to fund the work and develop the digital equity plan.
The PVPC will have a preliminary report by the end of the year, which will be presented to the City Council before its deadline. However, Fenton said the total digital equity plan is unlikely to be completed by the end of the year, but rather early 2024.
The Working Group on Digital Equity & Internet Access is a special committee that was formed at the beginning of the year. The committee, which meets monthly, was tasked with looking into different issues with digital equity and what main gaps exist within the city, compared to others.
Fenton shared that a “tremendous “gap was found in terms of access to high-speed internet.
By not having the same type of access it can create problematic outcomes.
He noted that a great deal of data was found related to this.
The committee has worked to identify funding sources to put together an equity plan and identify what gaps exist, while also making recommendations on what can be done to close those gaps.
At press time, Fenton said the committee was working with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute to secure the grant and was in the finalization process. He noted that the grant had not been awarded yet but was hopeful that it would be. Fenton and Mayor Domenic Sarno announced in July the city had applied to the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program through the Municipal Broadband Institute.
Funded through the state’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation, the program is designed to guide municipalities toward investments that would increase access and usage of internet for populations most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and prepare them to submit grant proposals for digital equity initiatives. To be eligible for the program, municipalities must include populations that are at or below 185% of the poverty line or 300% of the poverty line, as defined by the U.S. Treasury’s ARPA guidelines.
Another part of the plan is the outreach component. There will be five sessions – four in-person and one remote – for the public to attend. The four in-person sessions are scheduled for Oct. 26 at the Brightwood Branch Library, Nov. 13 at the East Forest Park Library, Nov. 29 at the East Springfield Neighborhood Council building and Nov. 30 at the Mason Square Library, all at 5:45 p.m. The remote meeting will be on Dec. 4, also at 5:45 p.m.
Once the plan is complete, it will make it eligible for broader funding sources — both state and federal.
Fenton said he is hopeful that the Springfield plan will be incorporated into the Massachusetts digital equity plan, which is a state effort.
He went on to describe this work as “really important.”
Fenton shared that he is happy to be working alongside smart individuals to close the digital equity divide in Springfield.
The Working Group on Digital Equity & Internet Access will be hosting three more meetings this year, on Nov. 8, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. The hybrid meetings will not be public outreach meetings, but rather for the full committee to discuss the plan and its next steps.