Consolidated Communications Awarded $40 Million in Grants to Aid in Building Fiber to 57,000 Homes in New Hampshire

N.H. Office of Broadband Initiatives Grant will help fund fiber-to-the-home service to 37 towns in Carroll, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough and Sullivan counties

MANCHESTER, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL), a leading fiber provider, announced today it was awarded $40 million in funding from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to build fiber to nearly 25,000 unserved homes throughout New Hampshire. Consolidated will invest its own capital to bring fiber to more than 32,000 additional homes. In total, the entire project will provide reliable fiber internet services to more than 57,000 homes across six different counties.

Upon completion, residents will have access to Consolidated’s fiber internet service, Fidium, which offers multi-gig speeds and WiFi6 without data caps, contracts or hassles.

“This project will have a major positive economic impact on these towns,” said Kathleen Kelley, a resident of Randolph, N.H. and local advocate. “Better internet will help our students prepare for the future, will allow small businesses to operate in today’s global economy, and will improve health outcomes for seniors in our community.”

“We in Tamworth are thrilled to learn that Consolidated has been awarded the recent broadband grant,” said Patricia Farley, chair of the Tamworth Economic Development Commission. “I’m especially pleased that businesses and families can finally relocate to our area with the knowledge that excellent internet service will be available. We are grateful to the State of New Hampshire, the N.H. Executive Council and Consolidated for helping us grow and flourish.”

The unanimous vote to approve Consolidated’s grant took place during the Feb. 22 meeting of the New Hampshire Executive Council meeting. The grant was offered by the N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs Office of Broadband Initiatives, with funding from the federal ARPA and Capital Projects Fund.

“We’re grateful to the Office of Broadband Initiatives for selecting this project and to the State of New Hampshire for making broadband access a priority,” said Sarah Davis, vice president of government affairs at Consolidated. “This project has received incredible support and active engagement from the towns, and we look forward to working with these dedicated town leaders to bring reliable, multi-gig fiber internet to their neighbors.”

Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2023 and be largely completed by the end of 2024. Consolidated has partnered with 23 New Hampshire towns since 2018, building and delivering fiber connectivity to 32,750 homes. Since 2021, Consolidated has built fiber to more than 244,000 New Hampshire homes and small businesses.

About Consolidated Communications

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSL) is dedicated to moving people, businesses and communities forward by delivering the most reliable fiber communications solutions. Consumers, businesses and wireless and wireline carriers depend on Consolidated for a wide range of high-speed internet, data, phone, security, cloud and wholesale carrier solutions. With a network spanning more than 57,500 fiber route miles, Consolidated is a top 10 U.S. fiber provider, turning technology into solutions that are backed by exceptional customer support. Learn more at consolidated.com. Connect with us on social media.