By Patrick Adrian Staff Writer
GOSHEN — Rural towns across Sullivan County are encouraging their residents in March to help close the “digital divide” by approving funds to create or expand access to high-speed broadband in their respective communities.
Towns including Acworth, Charlestown, Goshen, Lempster, and Unity are educating their residents through public meetings and publications about an opportunity to bring an optic fiber network, the fastest internet connection on the market, to their communities.
In Goshen, voters next month will consider whether to approve $1,190,283 to finance the construction of a town-wide fiber optic network in partnership with Consolidated Communications (CCI), a broadband provider with service to 23 states. The appropriation would cover the cost of a 20-year municipal bond of $780,125 in principal and $410,158 for compiled interest and additional expenses.
The Goshen Selectboard held a second public hearing Monday on the proposal. Goshen resident Alicea Bursey delivered a PowerPoint presentation to explain the project’s funding, benefits and answer questions from the community.
Charlestown voters will consider a similar bond proposal in March, also in partnership with CCI. A town fact sheet projects the cost of Charlestown’s project to be around $2.1 million.
These bonds would not have a tax impact, according to officials from both towns. Under the agreement CCI will pay the principal and interest on each bond in return for the exclusive rights to own and manage the network. CCI will repay the bond by charging a small monthly recovery fee to local internet subscribers.
In Charlestown, this recovery fee is expected to be $10 per month while Goshen’s recovery fee is expected to be $12-13 per month.
“If you do the simple math like I did, 300 subscribers at $13 per month for 20 years would equal $936,000, which is more than the amount we borrowed,” Bursey explained.
Residents would still be able to retain their current services.
Officials said there is a remote possibility that CCI could default on their repayment, in which case the bond could then have a tax impact. However, in such a scenario the town would assume ownership of the network and be able to re-license it with another telecom provider.
The demand for high-speed broadband access has been a growing topic for several years in rural New Hampshire, but became particularly prominent over the last year because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“In the wake of COVID-19 our community has seen just how important reliable internet is,” a statement on Goshen’s town website reads. “Our students were forced to remote learn, many seniors have had to see their doctors with teleheath and more and more residents have begun working from home.”
According to a Charlestown fact sheet, over 90% of the community lacks broadband service and the eastern and southern portions of town have no internet access. Additionally, most internet speed in Charlestown is relatively slow, with an average speed of 15 or less megabytes per second (Mbps). Even the broadband speed in town — less than 40 Mbps — is considered below average and typically not ideal for three or more users at a time, according to broadbandnow.com, an online provider database.
CCI will currently be able to provide users up to one gigabit (GB), equivalent to 1,000 Mbps.
Bursey said that some towns may be exploring contracts with providers other than CCI, though she was not certain.
Goshen, who requested bids from multiple companies, chose CCI because they were the only company to promise town-wide coverage and already have already completed similar projects in other New Hampshire communities, such as Chesterfield. Additionally, CCI is looking to expand its capacity for up to two GB, whereas other companies are only offering up to one GB.
The Charlestown and Goshen warrant articles will require a three-fifths majority of votes to pass.
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