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Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym
We are far from convinced that NHEC is the proper entity to be doing broadband. According to an interesting article in N.H. Town and City magazine, September/
October, it specifically mentions Carroll County broadband, which has received a $250k USDA grant to study broadband for all 19 towns comprising Carroll County. Nowhere in this article is NHEC mentioned as a provider of this service. At this point, we feel that this project should be done on a county-wide basis, and lean toward a NO vote unless we can be persuaded otherwise.
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The Carroll County Broadband Committee hasn't met for a while, so doesn't have a position on the NHEC vote at this time. Being on the committee, I've asked that a meeting be held to consider one. It wasn't an option during the study, so that is why you don't see it mentioned.
Having a fiber backbone for third parties to tap into would sure help the CCBC research to date. There are many small companies that want to sell to the consumer, stringing fiber from the pole to homes, providing customer premises equipment and support. But, can they scale and give us longevity? Those are real concerns. Building a backbone to tap into is expensive and getting permission to use existing poles is slow. If NHEC will do the build-out, it could be a sea-change in what is available.
It would be a shame if the cost to connect everyone in Carroll County would be millions higher because people voted to tell NHEC to forget about it. It could be the difference between hundreds having high-speed internet this decade or not. There aren't many (any?) choices to pick from in some of the rural areas, so why cut this one off from consideration?
What is the fear? Higher electric rates? Poor service? More downtime than with DSL? Who do you think is going to invest in hundreds of miles of fiber if NHEC doesn't? Do you expect the phone company or the cable company to step up and expand into low density areas? Do you care that many people in the rural parts of every town and especially in Sandwich, Tamworth, Madison, Eaton, Ossipee and Brookfield can't get high-speed internet?
I'm passionate about this because I'm a lightning rod for those that can't get good internet today. Students and people that are able to work from home are limited in what they can do. They are driving to the library parking lot to attend zoom meetings, required to keep their job. When their kids are attending on-line classes, everyone else in the house has to stay off the internet. It is a quality of life issue and we have an opportunity to help.
I hope that we, the NHEC customers in the Lakes Region, cast our ballots to allow the board to move forward. Let's give them a chance to come up with a solid proposal and then shoot at it if it doesn't make sense.