WESTBOROUGH, MASS. – Today, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech (MBI) announced the first group of 35 municipalities supported by the Commonwealth’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, a statewide effort to guide municipal decision-making and investments that will increase access, adoption, and usage of the internet, in particular for populations most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The municipalities in the program receive expert consultation on the determining factors of digital access, including internet availability and affordability, access to connected devices, and digital skills training.
Springfield, Mass. – Leaders from the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Economic Development and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech announced $14 million in new grants from the state’s Digital Equity Partnerships Program to address statewide digital equity gaps during an event today at The Tech Foundry in Springfield. The three grants were announced by Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, who highlighted the selected projects from Tech Goes Home, which will receive $4.5 million,; Vinfen, on behalf of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $4.3 million; and Baystate Health, on behalf of the Western MA Alliance for Digital Equity, which will receive $5.1 million.
WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative (CAM) and more than 85 organizations from across the Northeast have submitted a proposal to the federal government to create the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition, a regional hub that will advance the microelectronics needs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) while spurring new jobs, workforce training opportunities, and investment in the region’s advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. The Coalition submitted the proposal to the DoD’s Microelectronics Commons program, which is funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act that aims to onshore the manufacturing of microelectronics and semiconductor technologies and support workforce training for these industries.
WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative has launched the third round of its Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP), which aims to co-invest in small- to medium-sized manufacturers across the state. MMAP aims to help manufacturers that are looking to increase their competitiveness, upskill their workforce and meet the demands of ‘Industry 4.0’ by incorporating innovation-driven technologies such as automation, robotics, and connected devices into their production lines.
CAM Director Christine Nolan, participated in the MassRobotics Jumpstart Program which provides training and access to engineering and tech fields for high school girls.
LINCOLN, MASS. – Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined executives from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to announce $700,722 in grants from the ‘Pathways to Scale’ program, an effort from the Commonwealth to boost tech and innovation companies emerging from the startup phase and poised for growth. The four grants will help build or expand mentorship programs statewide that support ‘scaling companies’ and aim to increase the survival rate of innovative, high-growth companies across Massachusetts.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Massachusetts received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Massachusetts is receiving $6,003,760.60 in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state.
WESTBOROUGH – The Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech (MeHI) has selected two additional R&D hubs to join the Digital Health Sandbox Network, which connects Massachusetts-based digital health startups to innovative R&D facilities and allows them the opportunity to apply for funding to test their solutions at one of the Network’s labs. The new additions to the roster of Sandbox locations are Point32Health in Canton, and New England Deaconess Association in Concord.
Ashfield — State officials celebrated the impacts of the Last Mile infrastructure program, which has delivered high-speed internet access to approximately 26,000 premises across 53 towns in north-central and western Massachusetts, and discussed programs that will leverage over $350 million in anticipated state and federal funding to address digital equity and broadband infrastructure gaps that exist statewide.
