LEVERETT - The last mile is always the most difficult. But state officials seeking to bring high-speed Internet to the rural corners of Massachusetts took preliminary steps toward completing it Wednesday, announcing a series of grant awards aimed at helping municipalities and businesses develop broadband Internet networks.

The eight grants awarded by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute totaled $335,000, a sum the institute's director said would help local planners devise a strategy for bringing high-speed Internet into small-town homes. WiredWest, a consortium of 47 western Massachusetts communities, received a $50,000 award, while Leverett and Warwick received $40,000 and $50,000 respectively.

"The grant awards are part of the MBI's commitment to connecting the unconnected," MBI Director Judith Dumont said in a statement announcing the awards. "Through this funding we are energizing municipalities, broadband service providers and other organizations both to deploy immediate broadband solutions and to start planning now, in advance of the MassBroadband123 network build."

The 1,338 miles that make up the MassBroadband123 network form what is known as "the middle mile," stringing the fiber-optic cable needed for high-speed Internet to central access points in rural central and western Massachusetts communities.

But it does not complete what the "last mile," in which cable is strung to homes and businesses.

Local officials said the grant money would help them do just that.

Monica Webb, a WiredWest spokeswoman, said the money will be used to conduct an engineering study, market survey and update a demographic database that pinpoints exactly where residents live. Those steps must be completed before the consortium can seek financing for the construction of their proposed network, she said.

"We believe it is a big step forward," Webb said. "These are tasks that require significant financial outlay ... Rather than waiting until we raise that money to do that, this allows us to move forward immediately."

Leverett received a $40,000 grant, which will be used to hire a consulting team to design what is known as a "fiber-to-curb" network, said Selectman Peter d'Errico.

A fiber-to-curb network is one where the fiber-optic cable needed for high-speed Internet is strung along the street and then attached to individual houses or a group of houses, depending on the scenario.

"This grant allows us to provide the design plan for the townwide network," d'Errico said. "It is a technical and financial operation plan."

Crocker Communications, the Greenfield-based service provider, is collaborating with Leverett on the project and will aid town officials in reviewing the plan drafted by consultants, d'Errico said.

Neither the town nor the state is paying Crocker for its involvement, d'Errico said. Instead, he said Crocker had donated its time to prove to the state that there are Internet service providers willing to work with a municipal network.

Other local projects to receive funding were Warwick, which received $50,000 to expand and upgrade its wireless network and reach 400 unserved homes, and GAW High-Speed Internet, which received $40,000 to build a wireless network in Ashfield that will reach approximately 200 customers.