For Audrey and Chuck Conrad, a reliable and powerful internet connection seemed a dream. Six months before they moved into their home in Canaan, Audrey called the cable company in their area, looking for internet service. “No room on the line,” they told her. A year later, they were still trying.
Without good internet service, Chuck, a truck driver who transports gasoline from Albany, NY five days a week, could not upload his bills of lading and other documents and photos to the office. Simply put, he doesn’t get paid unless his documentation gets through.
Patching together two jet packs from different companies, the Conrads tried to create a home WiFi system to support their lives. They needed a fast, reliable connection for work, online classes, Alexa, three cell phones, a Smart TV and streaming music. Last but not least, they wanted to visit virtually with their new grandchild, who lives in another part of the country.
It was always cycling and we would see the buffering wheel of death.
Their makeshift network, including extenders to expand their coverage, “was expensive (almost $200 a month) and limited in data (transmission) and it was slooooow.”
Everything from a change in the weather to the time of day impacted their connectivity. Without a landline, the Conrads rely on their cell phones, which also need a WiFi connection. Sometimes, Audrey was forced to drive to downtown Canaan and sit in a parking lot to participate in virtual classes for certification as a relationship coach, or even to file their taxes. At times, everything and everybody in the house, including Chuck’s teenage daughter, would have to go offline until he could upload paperwork to his trucking office.
Having the internet is absolutely a luxury, no doubt. It is also a huge necessity, like eating a meal.
In May of 2023, they saw NH Broadband crews beginning to run high-speed fiber-optic lines on Prospect Hill. Audrey, who runs her own horse farrier service, was “chomping at the bit,” and pre-registered their household for NH Broadband, the for-profit subsidiary formed in 2020 by NHEC. By late October, the fiber optic lines had made their way up the dirt road leading to their home. By mid-November, the Conrads were connected.
It’s never slowed down. It’s never not worked.
Audrey no longer has to leave home to take class. Or stream a movie or music. Or surf the web…or visit a new grandchild!
NH BROADBAND IS CONNECTING NHEC MEMBERS IN MORE TOWNS!
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