This story was originally produced by the Valley News. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Fiber optic internet service is being made available for the first time to more than 26,000 homes and businesses in the Upper Valley.
Local officials welcomed the project, which promises to provide a faster and more reliable internet service compared to traditional connections such as DSL or cable.
Croydon, Grantham, Lebanon, Newport and Hartford are among the municipalities where the new service is available.
“Having a dependable internet connection will significantly improve quality of life and even make Croydon a more attractive place to live,” Dale Cunningham, Croydon Broadband Committee co-chair, said in a news release.
Croydon and the four others are the first Upper Valley communities to receive fiber internet through Fidium, the company behind the fiber expansion. They were already receiving DSL internet through Fidium’s parent company, Consolidated Communications.
So far, Fidium fiber service is available to 20,000 homes and businesses across Croydon, Grantham, Lebanon, Newport and Hartford, with 6,000 more planned before the end of the year.
In addition to a $40 million grant from the State of New Hampshire that applies to Croydon, the expansion into the Upper Valley is funded through Fidium’s capital investments, Kyle Thweatt, a spokesman for Consolidated Communications, said in an email.
As fiber internet is faster, more durable, easier to repair and scales easier than copper wiring, the largest downside is the installation itself.
“The real cost is the construction of putting the fiber up, especially in rural parts of the state. It’s labor intensive, and it’s expensive,” Scott Brooks, director of government affairs for Consolidated Communications in Vermont and New Hampshire, said in a phone interview.
Residents in Lebanon previously had access to DSL, cable, satellite and wireless internet options, and fiber was available to businesses and institutions, according to the city’s website. Hartford additionally had fiber available to residents through Vermont’s ECFiber, a community-owned business that aims to give underserved towns access to fiber internet.
Fidium is currently offering free installation for all of its plans.
Fidium’s four plan options are determined by upload/download speed, ranging from 100 Megabytes per second to 2 Gigabytes per second. The 100 MBPS plan is price-locked at $30 per month for the first year, rising to $50 per month after that year, and the 2 GBPS plan starts at $75 per month for the first year and rising to $90.
In contrast, Consolidated’s DSL plans went up to 40 MBPS/ 2 MBPS for download/upload speed, according to their website. Also servicing the area, Comcast offers a 2 GBPS plan, but the upload speed is only 250 MBPS — unlike fiber’s equal upload/download rates.
Residents or businesses who wish to find out if the fiber passes by their location, can go to FidiumFiber.com, click on “Check Availability” on the top right of the website, and enter their addresses.
Especially in rural regions, the connectivity can aid an area’s economic growth, quality of education and health capabilities as it allows for the expansion of remote work, distance learning and telehealth, supporters say.
Fiber optic internet increases economic growth for rural communities, where they reported an increase in gross domestic product growth rates of 44%, according to a 2024 study conducted by the Center on Rural Innovation, a Hartland-based nonprofit that aims to increase tech development in rural America. The study also found an increase in growth rates of 10% in self-employment and 18% in per capita income.
Businesses reported a 213% increase in growth as fiber reduces overall costs, according to the same study, preparing networks for increased AI utilization and enhances both customer and employee experiences.
“We’re all excited and can’t wait for it,” Cunningham, the Croydon Broadband Committee co-chair, said in a phone interview.
