Peabody To Use $200K State Grant On Broadband Upgrades

PEABODY, MA — Peabody will use a $200,000 state grant to upgrade its municipal broadband upgrade to help improve connectivity between departments, interactive capability with residents and cybersecurity.

"As we all know, broadband is essential infrastructure of the 21st century," Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. "A fiber network is a critical resource for local government which enables us to better deliver the outstanding municipal services that taxpayers expect."

The grant was part of the $4 million awarded in the state Community Compact Municipal Fiber program. Grants were awarded to 32 cities and towns across the state.

Mayor Bettencourt's office said the city already has a "robust" fiber infrastructure through the agreement that brought a second cable TV and internet provider to the city in 2019 but that this grant will allow for the strengthening and expansion of the existing network, which will save "tens of thousands of dollars in new equipment and labor costs."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)