Wireless Access for Coos County Moving Ahead
Barbara Tetreault
Berlin Daily Sun
August 1, 2008
COOS COUNTY — The effort to bring wireless broadband Internet access to all of northern New Hampshire is moving forward on several fronts. Wireless LINC of Vt. and N.H. this week was awarded a $578,150 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant. U.S. Senator Judd Gregg announced the grant which is targeted specifically to provide service to Stratford.
In addition, Gregg and U.S. Senator John Sununu earlier announced the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $700,000 in federal funds for the project. The funds are in the fiscal 2009 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development bill which awaits approval by the full Senate.
Just over two years ago, Northern Community
Investment Corp., based in St. Johnsbury, Vt., and Littleton Area Development
Corp., partnered to create the Wireless LINC. The goal is to build an open
access system to serve a 6,000 square mile area covering six counties in
northern New Hampshire and Vermont. While some parts of the area have multiple
options for high speed Internet, other remote areas are limited to dial-up
access. One main goal of the initiative is to provide the so-called last mile
coverage.
“There’s large areas that have nothing,” said Project Engineer Tom Joyce.
Joyce said the parties realized that building a fiber-based system would be cost prohibitive with estimates ranging as high as $430 million. The estimate for a wireless system, however, is in the $12 million to $15 million range.
Joyce was hired in the fall of 2006 and the next year C2 was chosen as the contractor. A 400 square mile pilot project in Dalton, Lancaster, Whitefield, Jefferson, and Groveton was selected. A lot of testing was conducted throughout last winter and spring looking at topography and weather and assessing different technologies. Joyce said the necessary filings to various agencies have been made for the access points and the construction should get underway by the end of September to bring on subscribers to the pilot project.
While the wireless system is being built, Joyce said they are also working on the software side of the equation. He said a major criteria of the project is to keep it current. He said the software and electronics will be constantly updated.
Approximately a third of the necessary funding has been raised from a variety of public and private sources including the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, N.H. Community Development Finance Authority., N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development, Vermont Business Corp., the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and U.S. Economic Development Initiative.
The latest $578,150 Rural Development grant will allow NCIC to establish a community center in Stratford to provide broadband for residents who are unable to afford Internet service in their homes. This center will also serve as a location for training critical services personnel and adult education technology training for Stratford and surrounding communities.
“Thanks to Senators Gregg’s tireless efforts to help bring wireless broadband to the Town of Stratford through the Rural Development Community Connect program,” said NCIC President Jon Freeman. “Our current testing of a pilot system in the Lancaster area is nearly complete, and these funds will allow Wireless LINC to expand into Stratford,” he said.