Lifelong Epsom resident Brittany Bishop works from home and sometimes struggles to connect to the internet. Some days, everything loads slowly, and others it does not load at all. When she cannot clock into her job on time, Bishop, a human resources coordinator, loses wages.

“I definitely need good internet access, and it’s really tough when I wake up some days and the internet is, for some reason, not working,” Bishop said.

Her job provides her flexibility, but she still needs to be able to do the work she is assigned.

Bishop’s internet frustrations match those held by others in Epsom. As part of a statewide initiative to expand access to broadband, or high-speed internet, the town has spent the past month assessing areas with limited or no broadband.

Data collected by the NH Broadband Mapping Initiative through the University of New Hampshire lists 11.9% of locations in Epsom as underserved, meaning that 239 addresses do not have internet access that works at a high enough speed to be considered served. Less than one percent, or 19 addresses, do not have broadband at all.

Regionally, Epsom isn’t the worst, but it’s far from the best. Nearby Pembroke, by contrast, has 0.1% of businesses and houses underserved for broadband needs, while Pittsfield has 15.9% of locations underserved. Broadband service gets spotty in the northern part of the state where some communities have between 20% and 50% of the town with no broadband service. 

Epsom gave residents a month to examine the map and confirm or dispute the level of service at their addresses. 

These efforts take place through the state Broadband Equity, Access and Deploymeent program that aims to connect New Hampshire residents with broadband through a $196.5 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Town-by-town data will be used during the application process for broadband providers to apply for contracts to service underserved areas.

For most of Epsom, Breezeline is the sole provider of high-speed internet. Residents complain of slow internet and delayed response time from the company.

“We have spoken with Breezeline and they are not super helpful,” Bishop said. “There was probably a week in February 2022 where we had no internet due to a line that got unhooked to our home. We were the only one in the area that didn’t have internet. It took them quite a while to get out there and hook it back up and figure out the problem.”

Bishop also recalls many dropped video calls and missed online appointments during the pandemic.

Matthew Conserva, a project manager in the state Office of Broadband Initiatives, said it’s important for residents to have adequate broadband access, because it provides necessary access to the modern, outside world. With workplaces and schools moving into digital environments to adapt to the needs of the pandemic, problems with broadband speed and access became more evident.

“Whether it’s e-commerce, entertainment, business, education, or telehealth, it’s a part of our fabric,” Conserva said. “It’s much like the expansion of electricity in rural America back in the early 1900s. This is pretty much the same thing. It’s become glaringly clear that broadband access is a necessity to be part of communities.”

Virginia Drew, vice chair of Epsom’s Board of Selectmen, said she faces connectivity issues in her home on a dead-end road.

“With all the things that take cellular and internet – a couple phones, a laptop, a TV – all of a sudden we’ll get dropped,” Drew said. “The TV streaming will stop, or my phone will stop. We purchased enhancers that help boost signals but I paid for the highest speed there is and even that doesn’t work sometimes.”

Drew added that sometimes when she walks down the street in parts of Epsom, even by her house, she loses both cellphone service and internet connection.

Selectwoman Meadow Wysocki, who serves on the town’s Economic Development Committee, has worked with the state throughout the broadband assessment process. She said getting providers to add offerings to the area has been difficult.

“We do regularly have communication from residents to us that they are not satisfied with either the options available or with the services that they’re receiving,” Wysocki said.

She hopes to see more providers come to the Epsom area to introduce competition, since many people she speaks with express dissatisfaction with Breezeline.

Breezeline spokesperson Andrew Walton encouraged customers to reach out with any concerns about their service. He also explained that internet performance can depend on factors relating to individual homes, such as whether the equipment comes from Breezeline, the wiring and layout of the home, and interference caused by other electronic devices.

“The formal process of determining the final list of unserved, underserved locations that will be eligible for the BEAD funding in the state is still underway so it is too early to specify Breezeline’s plans for participation,” Walton added.

Conserva said the state’s broadband project largely flies under the radar since it’s out of mind for people who have solid broadband access.

“The people that have it obviously think everybody has it,” Conserva added. “That’s not necessarily the case. South of Concord is heavily populated. There’s a serious return on investment for broadband operators to provide service. In the northern and northwestern parts of the state, people don’t have it and they know that they don’t have  it.”

To learn more about Broadband Equity, Access and De ployment, visit https://www.nheconomy.com/. The broadband map of New Hampshire can be found at https://broadbandnh.sr.unh.edu/portal/apps/sites/#/new-hampshire-broadband-mapping/.

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com.