Sen Hassan, FCC Chair Rosenworcel connect with officials and advocates to talk high-speed Internet access

State and local officials, telecommunications leaders, and advocates for high-speed Internet gathered at Keene State’s Alumni Center to connect with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission. The group of 10 officials and advocates reviewed the state’s efforts to expand the reach of broadband and fiber optic Internet to underserved communities and residents. Sen. Hassan recognized that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed the US Senate on Aug. 10, 2021, when senators voted 69-30 in favor of the legislation. She’s since secured $122 million for broadband infrastructure improvements from the US Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) — supported by money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) — and New Hampshire received $196.6 million through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). The New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (DBEA) was a beneficiary of the infrastructure bill and of the CARES Act— a $2.2 trillion pandemic-era federal economic assistance package Congress passed in 2020. The department used $30 million from CARES Act funds to provide broadband access to 4,500 residents without existing connections, according to Matt Conserva, broadband program manager for DBEA. Among other plans, Conserva said DBEA will be using $25 million from CARES money to fund the NH Broadband Mapping Initiative, organized by the department in May 2022 to identify availability of Internet access and strategies to improve it throughout the state.