High-speed fiber-based broadband expansion in the North Country is set to advance t

High-speed fiber-based broadband expansion in the North Country is set to advance this year and will be a game-changer in rural communities without it, said the commissioner of the New Hampshire Business and Economic Affairs Department, who offered a 30,000-foot view and likened the infusion of federal dollars to the electrification of homes a century ago. In February, after approval by Governor and Council, Consolidated Communications was the second company to be awarded federal stimulus funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. “We have two contracts approved right now to expand service to unserved and under-served areas of the state, which is almost all up here, and then down toward Keene and the Cheshire County area, north, and west of Concord,” said BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell. “One contract went to New Hampshire Electric Co-op for $50 million, and the second went to Consolidated Communications for $40 million.”