A new option for high-speed internet is set to roll out to select towns in the North Country next month.
New Hampshire Broadband, which is run by the New Hampshire Electric Co-Op, is behind the effort. They plan to bring fiber optic cable lines to residents in Pittsburg, Clarksville and Colebrook in early May. Columbia, Dixville and Stewartstown are on track to get access later this spring and summer.
The project was funded in part with roughly $65 million in grants from federal and state governments to bring internet access to under-served communities. About $50 million of that $65 Million came from the New Hampshire Department of Business & Economic Affairs.
Colin Manning, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Electric Co-Op, says this is filling a critical need.
“There’s now a high speed internet option, a fiber optic option, up in the North Country, especially in the Colebrook area where it’s really needed, and it’s really an underserved area and we're really happy to bring a solution to them,” Manning said.
New Hampshire Broadband is offering lower rates on the service, as part of their parent company's co-op structure. It is available to current clients of New Hampshire Electric Co-Op and non-members.
Coverage will start rolling out as early as May 9. New Hampshire Broadband has been working on delivering fiber optic internet since 2020.
Manning said they “made progress in the Lakes Region over the last year or so, and now we’re up in the north country making high speed available to areas that really need it."
