By CLYNTON NAMUO
Union Leader Correspondent
DURHAM -- The University of New Hampshire is helping to lead several grant applications seeking more than $45 million to build a fiber optic network across the state that would greatly expand broadband Internet access.
The bulk of the project, which UNH officials hope to fund with a $25 million stimulus grant administered through the U.S. Department of Commerce, would include building major fiber optic lines from UNH's Durham campus to Keene State College through UNH Manchester, as well as lines from Keene up to Dartmouth College in Hanover and then down south to Manchester through Plymouth State University.
Piggybacking on that project are grant proposals from Fairpoint and North Country broadband initiative Wireless LINC, which would greatly expand broadband Internet in the North Country and the Monadnock region.
"What's going to be created is going to provide a whole new realm of opportunities for New Hampshire," said Scott Valcourt, UNH's director of
project management and consulting services for information technology. "It has the opportunity to revolutionize the way we do what we do in New Hampshire. Just think about business alone."
Valcourt submitted the main grant application on behalf of many state partners, including the Department of Resources and Economic Development, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Safety and New Hampshire Public Television, among others. The fiber optic lines are expected to connect facilities for those partners too.
The full project, including the Monadnock and North Country portions, is estimated to cost around $46 million with some money coming from grants and some from whoever builds it.
UNH is already seeking a contractor for its portion of the project.
That contractor would provide 20 percent of the money and then own and maintain the fiber optic lines, leasing them back to the University System of New Hampshire.
The UNH project linking campuses is part of a larger effort to connect universities across Northern New England, Valcourt said.
There's already a major fiber optic line running from the University of Maine in Orono down through Portland and Portsmouth to Cambridge, Mass., he said.
The Boston area is the gateway to Internet access for all of Northern New England, Valcourt said.
The problem is if there's a major Internet problem there, it could cause problems up here.
The hope is to eventually expand the broadband network in New Hampshire to link up with the University of Vermont in Burlington via Dartmouth in Hannover, Valcourt said.
UVM also hopes to connect their network into New York State, providing a secondary access point for northern New England.
In the North Country, where broadband Internet is far harder to find than in Southern New Hampshire, the hope is expanded high-speed connections will attract businesses.
Tom Joyce, project manager for Wireless LINC, said that in the wake of the paper industry's collapse, many businesses have shied away from moving up north because of a lack of good Internet access.
"If you're living up here, you really need to get on the Internet if you're doing business. In a global economy, everything is moving at a high speed level, significantly faster than dial-up," he said.
He added: "What is really needed up here is a massive infusion of capital to upgrade the infrastructure for telecommunication."
That money remains precarious.
UNH has already secured about $2.3 million in grants to link its campuses, but the much larger $25 million grant would allow for significantly larger fiber optic lines that would help expand broadband.
UNH and its state partners have only applied for the grants needed to expand access up north and in the southwest. Announcements on whether or not they'll get all the money they want are expected by year's end.
Still, Valcourt said even if they don't get the money this time around, there will be other opportunities.
"We anticipate that as the years progress, there will be additional cyber infrastructure funding," he said.
To view the application for expanded Internet access, visit:
http://www.nheconomy.comheconomy-recovery/.
