Closing the Broadband Availability Gap and Support the Development of a Five-Year Action Plan

Description

Purpose: The Purpose of This Grant Is to Support Closing the Broadband Availability Gap and Support the Development of a Five-Year Action Plan.the Proposed Project Includes the Following Planning and Pre-Deployment Activities: Research and Data Collection, Including Initial Identification of Unserved Locations and Underserved Locations Consistent with Rules, Regulations, and Processes Commission Has Established for Making Determinations in Broadband Data Maps; Providing Technical Assistance to Potential Subgrantees, Including Through Workshops and Events; Training for Employees of Broadband Program or Office of Eligible Entity or Employees or Political Subdivisions of Eligible Entity, and Related Staffing Capacity or Consulting or Contracted Support to Effectuate Goals of Bead Program; Establishing, Operating, or Increasing Capacity of a Broadband Office That Oversees Broadband Programs and Broadband Deployment in an Eligible Entity; Asset Mapping Across the Eligible Entity to Catalogue Broadband Adoption, Affordability, Equity, Access and Deployment Activities Occurring Within the Eligible Entity; and Conducting Surveys of Unserved, Underserved, and Underrepresented Communities to Better Understand Barriers to Adoption. Expected Outcomes: The Outcomes of New Hampshire's Proposed Project, "Granite State Connected," Are a Five-Year Action Plan, Advancing the Goals of the Bead Program, and Eventually Contributing to Ensuring All Residents of New Hampshire Have Both Access to Broadband But Also the Means and Training to Best Use It. This Will Build Upon the Broadband Mapping Being Done Through the Coronavirus Capital Project Funds (Cpf) and Provide Layers That Will Show Where Gaps Exist and State Efforts to Alleviate Such Challenges; Better Informed and Prepared Staff, Partners, and Other Stakeholders Contributing to a Collaborative, Cohesive Five-Year Action Plan; Engaged and Knowledgeable Groups Working with the State to Assure All Stakeholders Can Participate in Bead; More Efficient Broadband Office, with Capacity to Oversee and Support a Smooth Transition Once Federal Funding Ends; Creating an Asset Inventory That Augments Existing Efforts, Identifies New Efforts, and Serves as an Invitation for State Organizations to Be Included in Future Assessment. Intended Beneficiaries: The Intended Beneficiaries Are Unserved and Underserved Groups in the State of New Hampshire with a Focus on Rural and Unserved Populations.subrecipient Activities: The Recipient Does Not Intend to Subaward Funds.