New Hampshire is All-In for Broadband

 You’re studying the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s Weekly Digest, a recap of the largest (or most ignored) broadband tales of the week. The digest is delivered by way of e-mail every Friday.

Spherical-Up for the Week of September 5-9, 2022

Broadband is the way forward for New Hampshire, we reported in June because the state was one of many first to win approval from the U.S. Treasury for plans to make use of Capital Tasks Fund help to increase the attain of broadband networks. On September 8, we realized that New Hampshire is as soon as once more main the way in which—now it’s the first state to achieve approval for a second wave of Capital Tasks Fund help. New Hampshire’s plans are designed to attach 80% of places within the state nonetheless missing high-speed web entry.

In June we realized of New Hampshire’s Broadband Contract Program, which gives broadband service suppliers a monetary incentive to deliver service to unserved and underserved addresses in the state—areas/addresses the place it might be financially detrimental for suppliers to aim to broaden. On the time, New Hampshire hoped that the Broadband Contract Program might join half of the state’s unserved places with $50 million (40%) of the state’s Capital Tasks Fund allotment. 

This week Treasury accredited New Hampshire’s second plan to spend money on broadband infrastructure to offer high-speed web to places that lack entry to ample service. In whole, New Hampshire is utilizing $122 million—100% of its Capital Tasks Fund funding—for broadband infrastructure to achieve an estimated 24,000 places, or 80% of places nonetheless missing high-speed web entry within the state. In whole, New Hampshire’s plans for Capital Tasks Fund help will assist join greater than 24,000 houses and companies to reasonably priced, high-speed web.

New Hampshire is launching a second program, the Broadband Matching Grant Initiative, a aggressive grant program designed to fund broadband infrastructure tasks to deliver high-speed web to areas at present missing service of 100/20 Mbps. The Broadband Matching Grant Initiative will present a state match to both a broadband web entry service supplier or a New Hampshire municipality to construct web infrastructure in areas of the state that, due to their topography, location, or price, haven’t been capable of entry broadband web. This system’s match is designed to alleviate the fiscal influence of community-driven broadband funding for each the broadband suppliers and municipalities, in addition to scale back the reliance on bonding.

New Hampshire’s packages are designed to offer web service with speeds of 100/100 Mbps symmetrical to households and companies upon undertaking completion. Upon completion, the operator(s) of those networks will take part within the Federal Communications Fee’s new Reasonably priced Connectivity Program which helps make sure that low-income households can afford the high-speed web they want for work, college, healthcare, and extra by offering a reduction of as much as $30 monthly. The operator(s) should embrace at the very least one low-cost choice provided at speeds which can be ample for a family with a number of customers to concurrently telework and have interaction in distant studying.

As with the Broadband Contract Program, the Broadband Matching Grant Initiative will likely be overseen by the New Hampshire Division of Enterprise and Financial Affairs. Funding networks have to be deployed by December 31, 2026.

This previous summer season, the New Hampshire Division of Enterprise and Financial Affairs issued a request for proposal looking for contractors to conduct a statewide broadband construct to attach as many unserved and underserved addresses of residents and companies as doable. To this point, the state has obtained seven proposals. The profitable bidder will likely be awarded a portion of the allotted Capital Tasks Fund funds, to not exceed $50 million. The continued operation and upkeep of the undertaking would be the sole duty of the awarded applicant.

The proposals will likely be evaluated on a 100-point scale: a most of 35 factors for total technique and strategy, 25 for expertise and {qualifications}, 20 for provided speeds, and 15 for price per unserved location.

The New Hampshire Division of Enterprise and Financial Affairs expects to inform the profitable bidder by September 23, 2022. 

Fast Bits

Weekend Reads (resist tl;dr)

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Occasions

Sep 12—Supporting Households Throughout Again to College: The Baby Tax Credit score & Reasonably priced Connectivity Program (White Home)

Sep 13—Workshop On Environmental Compliance And Historic Preservation Overview Procedures (FCC)

Sep 13—Creating Connections Convention (Community:On)

Sep 14—Web for All Webinar Sequence – Overview High FAQs of the Enabling Center Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program Utility (NTIA)

Sep 14—Letter of Intent Learnings & Greatest Practices – Session 1 (Colorado Broadband Workplace)

Sep 15—Technological Advisory Council Assembly (FCC)

Sep 15—Letters of Intent Learnings & Greatest Practices – Session 2 (Colorado Broadband Workplace)

Sep 19––Spectrum Coverage Symposium (NTIA)

Sep 20—Broadband Options and Latest Insights: What We’ve Discovered This 12 months (LightBox)

Sep 22—fortieth Annual Parker Lecture & Awards Ceremony (United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry)

Sep 24—Capital Tasks Fund Grant Plan Deadline (Division of Treasury)

Sep 24—ACP Signal Up Day (Black Church buildings 4 Digital Fairness)

Sep 25-28—The Proper Connection (CENIC)

Sep 26—Good Cities Join Convention & Expo (US Ignite)

Sep 28—Native Coordination in NOFOs (NTIA)

Sep 29—September 2022 Open Federal Communications Fee Assembly

Sep 30—Enabling Center Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program Purposes Due