The Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission has started collecting information concerning the presence and level of broadband service in the 27 towns that comprise the Upper Valley. The Rural Addressing Project, for which data collection began several weeks ago and is scheduled to be completed by August, marks an effort to improve broadband service in rural areas, according to project administrator Rachel Ruppel.
The New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning Program, led by the University of New Hampshire, will synthesize acquired GPS mapping data from the seven regional commissions in New Hampshire to produce a statewide map of broadband availability, Ruppel said.
"[Broadband service] is a very big issue for our community," Ruppel said. "By expanding broadband, we let people have the option to work from home or be monitored for a chronic condition or check their school email from home."
The Planning Commission is gathering information on broadband service by using volunteers, a strategy adopted from the Nashua Regional Planning Commission, according to Ruppel. The volunteer system keeps costs low and encourages local citizens to learn a new skill for use in their own community, she said.
UNH surveys on broadband service indicate that many people in rural areas in New Hampshire lack broadband service in their homes, Ruppel said.
"As we started collecting the information, it became apparent that we didn't have great information about where broadband availability stopped," she said. "A certain rural road may have cable service for the first mile of the road and at some point it stops."
Currently, data from the New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning Program indicates that 60 percent of New Hampshire residents operate with lower than the minimum broadband speed set by the Federal Communications Commission, according to the program's website.
The broadband mapping project will impact Dartmouth employees by making communication easier and more accessible, according to Ruppel.
"If you only have dial-up, you can't be connected in the same way that our society is coming to demand," she said. "It makes it difficult for professors and other staff to have that level of availability that we are becoming used to."
Volunteers have been eager to get involved, according to Victoria Davis, a planner at the Planning Commission who is coordinating volunteer efforts for the project.
"Our first group of volunteers are really interested in getting broadband to their towns," Davis said. "It's great when you involve people in the community to get the word out."
As part of the effort, volunteers attend one GPS training session and then drive to the entrances of residential driveways of houses that have been identified by UNH surveys as lacking broadband.
At each location, volunteers collect the longitude and latitude using GPS and record the house number, Davis said. Houses scheduled to be mapped will each be assigned at least one volunteer.
Not all Upper Valley towns will undergo the process, as some especially larger towns already have affiliated data on broadband service, according to Davis.
Jennifer Swett, a volunteer who works for the Zoning Board of Adjustment in Sutton, N.H., said the project addresses the need of "filling in the gaps" in the communication network.
"Its important to make sure that areas that aren't covered can get covered," she said. "I can help volunteer with this program and help in my town also with setting up GPS mapping."
Closer to the project's August end date, data collection from each region will be compiled to create an overall picture of the situation in the Upper Valley, according to Ruppel.
The New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning program is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Telecommunications and Information Administration, according to the Planning Commission's website.
