Rural Broadband Buildout Reaches Final, Hardest-to-Serve Towns

State broadband officials say New Hampshire's multi-year effort to bring reliable internet service to its most remote communities is entering its final and most difficult phase. Roughly two dozen small towns and unincorporated places, many in the North Country and along the state's western border, remain without access to service meeting the state's minimum speed standard.

Contractors working on the remaining builds describe a familiar set of obstacles: long distances between homes, difficult terrain, and the high cost of running fiber to serve only a handful of customers per mile. State subsidies have made many of these projects financially viable for providers that would otherwise have no incentive to expand into low-density areas.

Residents in newly connected towns describe immediate, practical benefits, from telehealth appointments that no longer require a drive to town, to children finally able to complete homework assignments at home rather than in a parking lot with cell service. Officials caution that a small number of the hardest-to-reach properties may require satellite or fixed wireless solutions rather than traditional fiber, meaning full statewide coverage will likely arrive unevenly even after the current program concludes.