New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning

Hello,

I saw some good news last month coming out of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. The Commission has agreed to set aside bandwidth for 5G technology. My colleague Paul Nikolich has more to say about 5G based on IEEE 802 meetings he chaired last week. And, closer to home, we have a report on broadband in Coos County, N.H., from colleagues within UNH’s New Hampshire Broadband Mapping and Planning Programming. I believe that progress is being made, but more work is needed.

IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) July 2016 Plenary Session by Paul Nikolich

As the IEEE 802 LMSC Chairman, I just finished leading approximately eight hundred international IEEE 802 participant/volunteers in San Diego 24-29 July 2016 to progress a wide range of fifty data communications standards development activities. The technology areas that 802 standardizes span across Local Area Network (LAN) topics such as security, bridging, Time Sensitive Networks, Ethernet, Wireless LANs, TV Whitespace, and IoT. Some interesting work that began last week: starting standards for long distances over a single twisted pair at 10 megabit per second for industrial and automotive applications in the 802.3 Ethernet Working Group, and for a low power long range radio interface for IoT applications in the 802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group.

The 802 LMSC Executive Committee concluded work on its investigation into 5G next generation Advanced Packet Networking (APN) with the following results:

• • Many current 802 standards already meet APN use case requirements
  • 802 will conduct market research to gather APN requirements from operators and end users
  • 802 may collaborate with external standards bodies such as IETF and 3GPP Radio Access Networks (RAN) in the long run (5+years.)

IEEE 802 LMSC meets in plenary session three times a year (March, July, November) and in interim session three times a year (January, May, September). The next plenary session will be held 5-11 November in San Antonio, TX. More details are available at www.IEEE802.org.

Coos County Broadband

In Coos County, NH, 25,820 residents representing just over 78% of the 2010 population of 33,055, have broadband access. An additional 5,587 residents, or almost 17% of the population, have internet access at speeds that are not considered broadband, while 1,648 residents, or 5% of the population, have no access at all. While progress is being made to improve access, Internet Service Providers, businesses, decision makers, and concerned citizens need to work together to expand access to ensure the tools are available for creating and maintaining jobs and for supporting public safety, education, healthcare, tourism, business, and the overall quality of life.

In addition, not all residents of Coos County who have access to affordable broadband services take advantage of the opportunities. Many small businesses and residents are unaware of the wide range of applications, information, communication and services available on-line. New Hampshire needs to continue to coordinate, promote, and sponsor trainings for residents, businesses, and organizations on the benefits of broadband usage. Increased skills and knowledge of broadband applications encourages broadband use and will lead to a well-educated, prosperous, healthy, and a safe New Hampshire. To download a copy of the 9-page report click HERE.

-Rouzbeh