Vision for Digital Access in Chelsea and Revere

Remove affordability and adoption barriers that prevent universal access to reliable and high speed internet.

Ensure all residents who desire to improve their digital / technology literacy have a pathway to educational opportunities at a range of skill levels, offered in community appropriate languages and settings.

Augment the capacity of key stakeholders such as IT Departments, School Districts, Libraries, Community based organizations, and municipal staff to address the digital divide

Promote competition among internet service providers offering broadband service.

Chelsea & Revere's

Infrastructure Assets

Copper wire slows the connection

Cable Providers in Chelsea

Comcast

No Competitor

Incumbent Cable Franchise, Full Coverage in Chelsea and Revere

In 2011 Comcast had 8,266 Cable TV Subscribers.

In 2020 it had 6,718

Source: Mass DTC Form 500, 2011 - 2020

Cable Providers in Revere

Comcast

RCN

Incumbent Cable Franchise, Full Coverage in Revere

In 2011 Comcast had 14,532 Cable TV Subscribers.

In 2020 it had 10,555

Source: Mass DTC Form 500, 2011 - 2020

Competitive Cable Franchise, Partial Coverage in Revere

In 2018 RCN had 661 Cable TV Subscribers.

In 2020 it had 1,702

Capitalize on Early Wins

Bridge to Broadband Partnership:

Ensure all Chelsea/Revere school district households have a high speed, reliable internet connection

Gateway City WiFi Grant:

Deploying WiFi service in high needs areas of Chelsea and Revere

Youth Works Digital Navigators RFI:

Building community capacity to support digital literacy.

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YouthWorks allocation can be used to pay young people 17 - 24 stipends to work as digital navigators, and overhead for organizations hosting digital navigators

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance offers training programs and support to individuals becoming digital navigators and host organizations

In partnership with the MetroNorth Workforce Investment Board, MAPC will be releasing an RFI for organizations or partnerships between organizations to host digital navigators in Everett.

Next Steps to Capitalize on Early Wins

Confirm participation in Bridge to Broadband pilot by Chelsea/Revere School Districts.

Work with MAPC to identify and address ongoing service costs associated with Gateway City WiFi grant program and potential program expansion.

Release an RFP for use of roof top assets such as 393 Ferry St and other public properties for fixed wireless internet service providers.

Work with municipal and community partners to identify appropriate respondent(s) to Digital Navigators RFI.

Strategic Interventions

Establish a Digital Equity Trust to Ensure Device and Service Access

Next Steps:

Establish Trust Fund by Executive or Legislative Action
Coordinate seed funding with the Emergency Connectivity Fund opportunity
Explore equipment donation and refurbishment partnerships
Align with Digital Navigators to support use of technology

A Digital Equity trust would be an established and sustained source of funds to support Everett residents purchase

Laptop/desktop computers
Routers
Internet service when existing subsidies are unavailable.

Impact

Reduce the number of individuals in Everett not receiving broadband service.
Reduce the number of households not able to provide all members with devices when needed.

Release an RFI for pilot "last mile" fiber connections in underserved areas of the City.

Next Steps:

Identify pilot opportunity sites using cable and commercial fiber maps.
Establish a partnership with regional partners to assist coordination of an RFI for service.
Work with regional partners to access federal or state ARPA funding to support pilot program

Bringing fiber connections into residential buildings will improve speed and reliability for property tenants. The City's of Chelsea/Revere can leverage public funds made available through ARPA and the State's IT Bond Bill to support these connections and associated wiring, which may enable longer term competition initiatives.

Impact

Encourage private sector action to improve infrastructure
Move residents towards federal goal of 100/100 speeds.
Ensure speed and reliability in areas of the City lacking fiber backbone infrastructure.

Brand Chelsea and Revere as a Tech Goes Home Communities.

Expand on the current Tech Goes Home pilot programs with the community partners to ensure that every library and school district in the City has at least one Tech Goes Home trained instructor, offering classes in English and languages such as Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Next Steps:

Allocate funding to support Tech Goes Home Training for Librarians and School District Staff
Coordinate outreach to community members through school district and municipal channels.
Establish a contract agreement with Tech Goes Home for services.

Impact

Residents are ensured an opportunity to gain baseline computer skills, regardless of English language proficiency.
Family households are able to support school aged children in basic technology needs.

Continuing the Journey

Explore Strategies to Increase Broadband Competition with Regional Partners

Next Steps:

Align priorities with regional stakeholders.
Work with a consultant to evaluate strategies for increasing broadband competition in Chelsea/Revere.
Assess required investments, operation mandates, and risk.
Apply for State/Federal funding through available sources (EDA Economic Adjustment Grant, IT Bond Bill)

Understanding the options to facilitate investments in broadband infrastructure to improve competition will be a critical next step to taking advantage of potential state and federal funding.

Impact

Reduce service costs for residents.
Attain reliable and universal 100/100 service.
Enable the City's to advance additional smart city initiatives.

Reposition Community Television Stations as Digital Access Hubs.

Next Steps:

Coordinate with the School District's technology initiatives.
Create an advisory board of community stakeholders to work with a consultant on the creation of a strategic plan for the stations
Review and evaluate existing cable franchise agreements for opportunities to leverage provider commitments towards this effort.

Revere/Chelsea Community TV serves as an important resource in the community for the distribution of information and community resources. These stations could leverage existing equipment, knowledge, and space towards digital content production and resource/skill development.

Impact

Create opportunities for residents to access professional media production equipment and resources
Enable skill building for software and communication technology
Increase the City's ability to communicate with residents about important issues and resources.

Connect Digital Access Investments to Workforce Development Opportunities

Next Steps:

Build off the MetroNorth Digital Navigators program to develop a stewardship model responsible for deploying WiFi.
Establish partnerships with ISP's like Crown Castle and Comcast to develop local training programs with Chelsea/Revere high schools.
Connect Bunker Hill's Cisco Networking Certification to more community organizations.

In alignment with both the Chelsea and Revere workforce development plans, efforts to increase digital access should be aligned with workforce opportunities. Training programs related to infrastructure installation, network management and architecture, and IT could all be leveraged from future investments.

Impact

A pipeline is established between literacy training and career pathways for residents of Chelsea/Revere.

Digital Justice Principles: Access

Digital justice ensures that all members of our community have equal access to media and technology, as producers as well as consumers.
Digital justice provides multiple layers of communications infrastructure in order to ensure that every member of the community has access to lifesaving emergency information.
Digital justice values all different languages, dialects and forms of communication.

Source: Allied Media, Teaching Community Technology Handbook