Please join NH Broadband, powered by New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, for a special Sandwich Meet & Greet! This event is your opportunity to learn more about the NH Broadband fiber network project and ask questions of the team bringing high-speed fiber internet to your neighborhood.
Speakers will include:
- Alyssa Clemsen Roberts, NHEC and NH Broadband CEO
- Jonathan Chambers, Partner at Conexon, NH Broadband’s fiber network partner
- And other special guests
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Sandwich Town Hall
Upstairs Community Room
8 Maple St.
Sandwich, NH 03227
RVSP to the Meet & Greet here - https://info.conexon.us/sandwichmg
CLICK HERE IF YOU'D LIKE TO TELL THE NH ELECTRIC COOP YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN THEIR BROADBAND SERVICE
The Broadband Advisory Committee (BAC) was appointed by the Board of Selectmen in May, 2019 to explore the possibility of bringing broadband (high speed internet with speeds of at least 25 mbps/3 mbps) to Sandwich. Fiber-optic broadband is the fastest and most reliable technology now and in the foreseeable future. The charge of this committee is to explore various ways to provide fiber-optic service with no additional burden on the taxpayers at an affordable price to subscribers.
Big Grant for Sandwich Broadband!
Congressman Chris Pappas visited Town Hall on Monday to announce a $1.65 million grant toward construction of Sandwich's new high-speed fiber-optic broadband network. Along with a grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission, that brings the total subsidy for the network to $2.5 million — nearly two-thirds of its cost. The remainder will come from the NH Electric Cooperative, with no additional contribution needed from Sandwich taxpayers.
This effort has been almost three years in the making. This week’s announcement fulfills the Sandwich Broadband Advisory Committee’s 2019 mission statement: “To determine how every Sandwich household and business can enjoy fast, reliable broadband service at an affordable price.” The COVID pandemic magnified the need for decent internet service in Sandwich, which currently relies almost exclusively on deteriorating, unreliable and painfully slow DSL. Sandwich has NO cable service anywhere in Town.
The Town’s fiber-optic network is being constructed by the Co-op’s nonprofit subsidiary, NH Broadband, which was set up in response to activism from a Sandwich-based grassroots consumer group and steady pressure from the Town’s Broadband Advisory Committee. The Co-op is on target to provide fiber-optic internet to unserved and underserved areas of its 118-town territory over the next few years, much the way rural electric service was attained in the 1940s. We are very grateful to NHEC for its vision and responsiveness.
Construction of the "head house," the electronics hub for the network, has been completed on Route 25 in East Sandwich. Crews are working throughout Town completing the make-ready work in preparation of stringing the fiber and hooking up individual premises to internet service with initial speeds as high as 1 gigabit-per-second --- more than 100 times faster than most Sandwich residents now get. Co-op officials say the network will be ready to hook up residences, businesses and town agencies in June.
The Town’s Broadband Advisory Committee is working with the Co-op to set up an information session to answer residents’ questions. Stay tuned for a date. You can also check out their website NHBroadband.com and their Facebook page.
Julie Dolan, chair, Sandwich Broadband Advisory Committee
on behalf of members Courtney Delaney, Brad Holmes, Richard Knox, Jeanne Ryer and Josh Ullman
If you have any questions or comments, you can e-mail the Broadband Advisory Committee at the following address:
Sandwich.Broadband@gmail.com