NH Business Review
Public-private partnerships have led over 20 communities to enhance infrastructure
April 8, 2021
In 2019, Chesterfield was the first. In 2020, five more followed: Dublin, Harrisville, Rindge, Walpole and Westmoreland. This year, 16 New Hampshire communities are poised to enter into public-private partnerships to expand broadband access and modernize infrastructure – Charlestown, Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Goshen, Greenfield, Jaffrey, Langdon, Marlborough, Marlow, Peterborough, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sullivan, Temple, Troy, and Unity. In total, the projects amount to well over $40 million in investment.
What do these communities have in common? They have agreed that public-private partnerships are an effective way to address their broadband needs. In each case, they’ve used a unique combination of municipal bonding combined with a monthly fee on subscribers to make payments on the bond. The majority of communities this year chose to partner with Consolidated Communications.