REGIONAL BROADBAND MAPPING & PLANNING
The New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning Program (NHBMPP) is a comprehensive program that seeks to understand where broadband is currently available in NH, how it can be made more widely available in the future, and how to encourage increased levels of broadband adoption and usage.
What is Broadband?
Broadband or “high-speed” internet access is generally considered any internet service that allows significantly faster speeds than dial-up internet access services. For the purpose of this project, it is defined by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as internet access that is at least 768 kbps downstream (from the internet to the user) and 200 (kbps) upstream (from the user to the internet). Even these speeds may not be adequate for many of today’s users, particularly for internet activities like video streaming, teleconferencing , online gaming, heavy social media use and sending and receiving large files.
What We've Learned
- A telephone survey of residents by UNH for NRPC revealed that 96 percent of Region’s residents enjoy internet access in their homes.
- Speed test analyses and local verification revealed that Region’s western and more rural communities face largest broadband coverage gaps.
- The topography of the landscape in the Region's more rural areas is a challenge for infrastructure development.
- The Region’s most rural community, Mason, faces largest gaps in broadband coverage. Other gaps have been identified in communities of Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, and Wilton.
About Rural Addressing
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The rural addressing project, coordinated by NRPC and the University of New Hampshire, is an effort to map every residential address point in a rural census block in the State. These blocks are defined as being two square miles or larger. In addition to having countless benefits to general planning and mapping efforts, this dataset will specifically help verify and enhance the picture of broadband availability in the Nashua region by providing more accurate spatial information to locate where people are being unserved or underserved by broadband technology. All nine regional planning commissions across the state collected points and house numbers through various sources, including an innovative program involving volunteer field work with Garmin GPS units and iPads. |
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For More Information
NH Broadband Mapping and Planning Program |
Nashua Regional Planning Commission |
NH Division of Economic Development |
| Fay Rubin, Project Director | Ryan Friedman, Broadband Mapping | Carol Miller, Director of Broadband Technology |
| Michael Blair, Project Coordinator | (603) 271-2341, x.138 |
