Connecting Rural NH

There are now two generations of the workforce who never endured the screeching sounds of 56k modems or waited for minutes on end for a simple picture to download or for even an internet connection. Today, our expectation for high-speed internet is both a norm and a necessity. And while less than 3% of people in the U.S. still use dial up, many living in rural areas still struggle with a broken or non-existent broadband system.

Matthew Conserva, program manager for the NH Department of Business and Economic Affair’s Office of Broadband Initiatives, compares the build out of fiber optic cable underway in rural parts of NH to the “electrification of rural America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

“That’s how important this is,” Conserva says. “Broadband is a necessity for everything from telehealth, jobs and education. If you don’t have access to the internet, how would you know what jobs are out there? My imagination can’t even go to how many areas of life are affected by not having internet access.”

Of the 548,026 households in NH, 7.5% have no internet subscription of any type, and 17% had no broadband access at all, according to a State of NH Capital Projects Fund (CPF) report in 2023. The report states 47% of the state’s population (617,000 people) live in rural communities, where the population density averages 47 people per square mile.

Kathleen Kelley, a member of the Randolph Broadband Committee and the town’s representative to the Coos County Broadband Committee, has been working on securing funding for broadband in her region. She says for many in rural NH, seeking out coffee shops or the local McDonalds, public libraries and other places to connect is still a necessity. Thirty percent of students in Shelburne were using a dial-up internet connection during the pandemic, she says. In the Monadnock region to the south, 28% of Hancock residents were without broadband service throughout the pandemic. Kelley adds that people in the North Country sometimes drive to the tops of hills where they can get a signal to tap into hot spots through their cell service provider.

Kelley, who moved to Randolph in 1988, says she was thinking about internet access even then because of her work as a fundraising executive and an accountant. She was assured a modem could connect their home to a tower on Pine Mountain and adds that this internet connection was faster than what some in the area have today. But she says things are changing for the better.

The broadband panel on which Kelley serves in Coos County—one of many around the state—was established in 2020 in response to public and private demand for better internet service, which became evident during the pandemic. A mapping project conducted by internet service provider Consolidated Communications (CCI) using a 2015 NH Broadband study as well as Federal National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) data, identified statewide companies that provided internet service and what areas had greater broadband service than other regions.

The NH Electrical Co-op (NHEC), based in Plymouth, and CCI have identified 48,016 locations that need to be serviced and have the infrastructure now in place to allow 10,000 more addresses to have the option to connect to high-speed internet. As of June 30, 2023, 1.8% of addresses across the state remained unserved and 3.2% were underserved predominantly in rural areas. In Hancock, 21.7% of the population remained underserved in June. In Jefferson to the north, 29% were unserved and 23.6% remained underserved.

According to NTIA standards, unserved is defined as having less than 25 mega-bits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads; being underserved is having less than 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads. As recently as 2010, adequate broadband service was defined as speeds of 4 Mbps for downloads and 1Mbps for uploads according to the Pew Charitable Trust. 

For perspective, Netflix says people need 5 Mbps to stream full HD content and a data rate of 25 Mbps  for 4K Ultra HD content. With multiple devices operating in a home, bandwidth decreases and the pandemic, which led to more work from home, has altered standards.

In 2021, following CCI identifying 24,757 unserved and underserved addresses in 37 municipalities across six counties, Kelley contacted Taylor Caswell, commissioner of the NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA). “I asked at the time what the plan was going forward, and he informed me the state was seeking investments from companies such as CCI, Spectrum and the New Hampshire Electrical Co-op and that ARPA [American Rescue Plan] funds in the amount of $40 million would be used,” she says. “One of the [34] towns that would be covered was my town, Randolph, but other towns like Shelburne and Jefferson, as well as Stark and Stratford, would need to be covered as well.”

So far, more than 54 miles of fiber have been strung through eight counties where the highest needs were identified, reaching such communities as Campton, Hebron, Holderness, Plymouth and Rumney. Work is continuing in Grafton County and preparation for deployment is now complete in Belknap, Carrol, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack and Sullivan Counties where infrastructure builds are happening.

Equity, Access and Economics
Broadband has been a priority for the state for a long time, Caswell says. “To adequately participate in the economy, people need access to the internet,” he says, explaining that historically, NH has not been able to compete for federal dollars for broadband expansion because on paper the state looks better than other states such as Mississippi or Alabama. The pandemic, he says, changed this.  “The federal government sees broadband as an important component, and it became something Congress decided to fund heavily.”

In the wake of the pandemic in 2022, NH created the Broadband Contract Program, overseen by the BEA, to provide internet service providers with a financial incentive to bring service to people who are unserved and undeserved.

Caswell says the broadband buildout in NH began in 2021 with CARES Act funds, including $13 million initially used to bring broadband access to thousands of NH addresses needing broadband access. The latest buildout involves $122 million in federal and state funding. “We are currently working with the federal government to access our allocation under the Infrastructure Allocation as well,” Caswell says, explaining that the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program will bring an additional $191 million for broadband expansion.

In early 2022, BEA awarded a $50 million contract to NH Electric Co-op and a $40 million contract to CCI to connect a total of 48,016 addresses, in the state to broadband. Work will be carried out in two rounds. The first round, currently underway, is connecting 23,259 addresses, and the second round will connect a remaining 24,757.

NH Electric Co-op President and CEO, Alyssa Clemsen Roberts, says the $50 million grant to NHEC requires the buildout of infrastructure to be complete by Dec. 31, 2026. “We should be done in June 2026,” she says. “Ideally, we’d like to be building 20 miles per week, but New Hampshire winters could hinder that. If that’s the case, we’ll play catch up in the summer.”

Clemsen Roberts says finding the workforce to build the infrastructure for broadband—which is primarily contractors and subcontractors—has been difficult but is getting easier. “They’re fully moving now, and I think we’re seeing workforce issues level out,” she says. The hardest thing to find, she adds, has been engineers. “We just filled one position that had been open for seven months. So far this hasn’t affected project deadlines though.”

Clemsen Roberts stresses that no part of life goes untouched by the internet today. “That’s why the Co-op is doing what we’re doing.  We’re here to help communities thrive and live,” she says. “I have to give the BEA credit. They’ve taken a huge step forward and took the bull by the horns. BEA did a nice job moving things out thoughtfully and quickly. This kind of investment in a state this size is impactful. And from an education perspective, it levels the playing field.”

Conserva, who worked for Nextel for 24 years before his role as program manager for the state’s broadband program, says the issue of poor internet connectivity is largely about leveling the playing field for people. “It’s equity and it’s access,” he says. “By providing access, you’re setting the table for people. In a perfect world, everyone has access.”

Connecting to broadband services in NH for those who can’t afford to pay for connections will be made easier, Caswell says, due to the Affordable Connectivity Program, which NHEC and CCI are required to participate in. This program makes those whose incomes are at or below 200% of the poverty level eligible for low-cost service.

Conserva says broadband access is an essential component of economic development. “If people don’t have broadband, they may not want to live and work in those places,” he says. “Everything revolves around access, and broadband is needed for people to succeed.”

The need for high-speed internet access also affects property values and whether a municipality can attract businesses, Caswell says. “If you have a town in western New Hampshire with high-speed internet and one next door that doesn’t, that can make a big difference,” he says. “It can be like night and day, and from the standpoint of the state, we want a foundation to allow communities to compete with other states, to attract workforce, for senior citizens and others to have access to telehealth.”

100% Broadband Coverage Goal
NH Electric Co-op and CCI have committed to using their own funds, independent of the Broadband Contract Program, to increase the number of last-mile connections that are sometimes the most difficult, Clemsen Roberts says. Once complete, NH will be among the most connected states in the nation, according to the CPF report, which says 50,000 new locations will be connected.

Caswell says the state is aiming for 100% broadband access. “There’s no reason not to believe we can do this with the kind of money we’re hoping for moving forward,” he says, referring to the $191 million in federal infrastructure money the state is slated to receive.

Conserva says the initial proposal for those funds must be received on or before Dec. 27 and that it will take two months before approval. A final proposal to access all the money will come a year later, he adds.

Kelley says people who want to be connected by fiber will need to agree to a connection. Some people, she says, believe the federal government will spy on them if they agree to being connected with fiber. “I’ve been telling them the National Realtor’s Association says having fiber connected to their home can increase the value by as much as 7%,” she says.  “So that usually then gets them off their duff.”

For Conserva, providing rural areas with broadband is a monumental moment in the state’s history. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he says.