In a field hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., broached the subject at Keene State College Friday with witnesses from around the country. The hearing, “Expanding Broadband Infrastructure in the Granite State,” focused on increasing access to broadband services in rural areas across New Hampshire.

The committee, of which Hassan is a minority member, holds congressional hearings in and out of Washington, D.C., to gather information for the legislative process.

“As I travel across our state, I talk to businesses about their priorities and their challenges, and time and again, I hear from businesses here in the Monadnock Region and up in the North Country, in particular, about the urgent need to strengthen our broadband infrastructure,” Hassan said. “Our people and businesses simply cannot compete in a 21st-century innovation economy without broadband. And we must act now to address what’s an urban-rural divide that has persisted in our country and this state for far too long.”

Six witnesses gave testimonies on the subject at the Alumni Center Friday, representing the Federal Communications Commission, US Cellular, Consolidated Communications, the University of New Hampshire, Sequoya Technologies in Peterborough and Alpha Loft in Portsmouth.

Each witness spoke for five minutes about the need for access to broadband connections in rural areas, as well as potential steps to help increase that access.

Many of them addressed the negative effects of a lack of access to fast and reliable connections. Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, spoke about the “homework gap,” wherein students fall behind in assignments because they don’t have stable access to the Internet.

“According to the Senate Joint Economic Committee, the homework gap is real. By their estimate, 12 million children across the country live in households without Internet access,” she said. “I am certain that some of them are right here in New Hampshire.”

Others, including Tom Strickland, who is president and co-owner of Sequoya Technologies in Peterborough, discussed the business impacts of limited connectivity.

“Quality, high-speed broadband has become as essential to business growth today as rivers were in the 18th and 19th centuries and as interstate highways were in the 20th,” he said. “ ... Over the last 30 years, the Internet has evolved from a science network used only by geeks to a utility service that businesses depend on. Unfortunately, that rapid evolution of technology has outpaced the regulatory frameworks needed to keep it running efficiently and ensure that all businesses compete on equal footing.”

Michael Reed, state president of Consolidated Communications, noted that his company, which provides broadband services in 24 states, has already made efforts to bring service to rural communities.

“The unserved locations we have are not unserved because we like to deny service. It’s because they’re hard to serve, and they’re more expensive. We know where the locations are, and with that information, we can identify where resources and collaboration is needed,” Reed said. “It’s imperative that the federal dollars that we may find are used to expand our network and be very careful not to duplicate something that’s already there.”

Grant Spellmeyer, vice president of federal affairs and public policy at US Cellular, said one of the biggest barriers to increasing connectivity in rural areas is the cost.

“When you focus on a state like New Hampshire and the experiences that we’ve had, it’s quite common for us to spend more than $1 million to construct a tower in a mountainous area,” Spellmeyer said. “ ... It’s an extremely expensive proposition, and in many areas, the customer density simply isn’t high enough to warrant a million-dollar investment.”

After each witness had spoken, Hassan directed questions to them about 5G integration, network resiliency, broadband in the Monadnock Region and the need for direct government funding to improve broadband infrastructure.

But efforts to connect rural areas with reliable service are ongoing, Reed said.

“I do want to just level-set for a second, because it almost feels like we’re sitting here saying, ‘Everything is stagnant, what are we going to do?’” Reed said. “Broadband is improving every day, and construction’s going on every day. I don’t want anyone to think that it isn’t.”

The witnesses agreed that direct spending for broadband infrastructure would be necessary to close the “digital divide” between rural and urban communities.

“I certainly believe it’s crucial. As Mr. Strickland had talked about, we got basic telephone service out to everybody in this country, and that was a direct investment to get it done,” Spellmeyer said. “The same thing is needed in the broadband area.”

Hassan has co-sponsored the “Airwaves Act” with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., which would establish and provide additional funding to invest in rural broadband infrastructure. She also noted during the hearing that a group of Democrats from the Senate and House recently unveiled an infrastructure plan that included $40 billion in direct spending for broadband infrastructure.

As the question-and-answer session came to a close, Strickland noted that the benefits of connectivity outweigh the costs.

“I know that what we are hoping to accomplish here is expensive, on the border of 40-50,000 dollars a mile for fiber, sometimes more. I would point out that a mile of asphalt costs more than a mile of fiber,” Strickland said. “We don’t hesitate to build asphalt roads. We can solve this.”

Those with questions about access to broadband in rural areas of New Hampshire are encouraged to submit them to Hassan’s office to be answered by the witnesses and entered into the official congressional record of the field hearing. The record will remain open for two weeks.