Franklin Connect is an initiative of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments formed at the request of the Franklin County legislative delegation and supported by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Franklin Connect has formally opened membership to businesses and public organizations in Hampshire County. The formal partnership between Franklin Connect and Hampshire County communities will be announced at a public forum with United States Senator John Kerry. The partnership will allow businesses and communities in both Franklin and Hampshire counties to work together to overcome difficulties related to the lack of competitively priced, high-speed broadband Internet services in the region. According to Linda Dunlavy, Executive Director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and acting Chair of the Franklin Connect Steering Committee, Reaching out to Hampshire County communities is a logical next step for Franklin Connect because businesses and residents in both counties face a common set of challenges relating to the lack of access to competitively priced broadband Internet services.
Further research suggests that many businesses in Hampshire County face similar pricing issues.
The primary goal of Franklin Connect is to ensure that businesses and other organizations in the region are able to purchase advanced data and voice services at reasonable prices from a growing list of competitive telecommunications service providers. State Senator Stanley Rosenberg, who encouraged Franklin Connect to join forces with Hampshire County communities, believes that, The partnership between Hampshire County and Franklin County in the Franklin Connect effort is an exciting step forward in what has already been a rewarding process. Businesses and communities in the entire region will benefit from the competitive marketplace for broadband Internet services that Franklin Connect is working to achieve. The formal partnership between Franklin Connect and Hampshire County will be announced today at a public forum with United States Senator John Kerry. Having been an avid supporter of the highly successful Berkshire Connect initiative and a strong advocate for competition in the marketplace for advanced telecommunications services, Senator Kerry has expressed an interest in learning more about the goals and objectives of Franklin Connect.