Franconia, Sugar Hill Receive “Gig Town” Designation For Broadband Expansion

Franconia and Sugar Hill have officially been named “Gig Towns,” a designation recognizing the completion of Fidium Fiber’s full-scale fiber Internet networks and the availability of next-generation multi-gig symmetrical speeds to residents and businesses.

The announcement was celebrated during a joint community event hosted by the Franconia and Sugar broadband committees and Fidium.

“Full connectivity is now a reality for Franconia,” said Franconia Selectman Eric Meth. “Access to Fidium’s fiber network will have an invaluable impact on the education, health, business, and personal needs of the residents, homeowners, and businesses in our community.”

“Fidium’s willingness to help develop the economy is a great benefit to our rural community,” said Tim Egan, of Sugar Hill, who serves on the Grafton County Broadband Committee and Coos Economic Development Corp. “By engaging with town leaders, they made their rollout of broadband easy for consumers who are usually last in line for services, here in Grafton and Coos counties.”

Fidium launched its all-fiber network in the community earlier this year, a part of its expansion to more than 24,000 homes and businesses in Coos and northern Grafton counties. For Franconia and Sugar Hill, the Gig Town designation marks a major milestone for connectivity in the community.

“With Fidium, the best is now in reach for Franconia and Sugar Hill,” said Jeffrey McIver, senior government relations manager for Fidium. “It has been a joy working alongside both these towns, as we’ve worked to find solutions together with Fidium as the key. By recognizing how fiber can transform communities – improving educational outcomes, reducing health costs, enhancing economic opportunities and more – Franconia and Sugar Hill have earned this Gig Town distinction and the bright futures ahead, powered by Fidium.”

Fidium delivers symmetrical speeds up to 2 gigabytes (2,000 Mbps), enabling customers to stream entertainment, access remote healthcare, work from home, and grow their businesses with reliable connectivity. Fiber broadband has been shown to boost local GDP, increase self-employment, raise per capita income, and enhance real estate values.

Owned by Consolidated Communications, Fidium was installed across the North Country and beyond after Consolidated, which is now called Fidium, entered into a $40 million contract with the state of New Hampshire in 2023 to increase fiber broadband in unserved and underserved communities.

For their efforts to expand broadband Internet, the towns of Sugar Hill and Franconia have been designed "gig towns" by Fidium Fiber. Left to right" Franconia Selectman Eric Meth, Fidium government relations manager Jeffrey McIver, and Sugar Hill Selectman Rusty Talbot.

Read this story and more from the Caledonia Record: https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/local/franconia-sugar-hill-receive-gig-town-designation-for-broadband-expansion/article_7e841fe8-b130-500f-a18b-4170a91e255c.html