CORNISH — Almost 300 households in Plainfield and Cornish that have not had access to high-speed fiber internet may soon have it due to a recently awarded federal grant of nearly $3 million.

The expansion will include households that qualify as “unserved” or “underserved,” said Michael Fuerst, who chairs the Cornish Broadband Committee.

“So much of what we do today is based upon being connected to the WiFi even for health issues and access to medical records, doing any sorts of business,” said Fuerst, who lives in an “underserved” household off Clark Camp Road on the east side of Cornish. “It will make a huge difference because frankly for a lot of us it’s been difficult to find good access.”

Around 17% of New Hampshire households do not have access to broadband internet, according to a 2023 report from the Capital Projects Fund, which oversees the Broadband Matching Grants Initiative, a New Hampshire program that distributes federal funding to expand high-speed internet.

The five-member New Hampshire Executive Council, which must approve all expenditures of state and fedearl money, gave the OK last month for the grant.

The towns will work with Hub66, an Acton, Mass.-based internet service provider that also serves the Twin States, to secure the funding. Members of the Cornish Broadband Committee, including Feurst, were encouraged by the work they’ve done in other New Hampshire towns, including Bristol and Enfield. The firm is scheduled to begin work installing fiber internet cables on pre-existing utility poles in Cornish and Plainfield early next year. The goal is to have the project complete within 15 months; Feurst noted that the timeline may change depending on how long it takes Hub66 to work with utility pole owners to gain permission to install fiber wires.

As Cornish officials began working on the grant application, they reached out to Plainfield in hope that joining together would strengthen their chances of getting funding because more households would benefit, Fuerst said.

“It’s going to be very, very good for both towns,” Plainfield Town Administrator Stephen Halleran said, crediting Cornish officials for taking the initiative.

Households that already have access to high-speed internet through Comcast, for example, can stand to benefit from the project because the fiber lines will go by their homes, Fuerst said. While those households may not be able to have wires directly connected to their homes for free like those that qualify as “unserved” and “underserved,” they could pay installation fees to use the service.

“That may not happen initially, but that’s what will happen in practice,” Fuerst said.

While those installation costs have yet to be determined, Fuerst pointed to installation fees on Hub66’s website that range from $99 to $199, depending on what type of internet speed users want. Once the high-speed fiber is installed, all users will have to pay a monthly bill like with any other utility.

Some residents currently have access to the internet through Comcast; others, including Michelle Marsh, Plainfield’s town clerk and tax collector, use so-called DSL technology. While Comcast is available on half of the dirt road where Marsh lives, it doesn’t extend to her home. Years ago, she looked into paying to have it strung to a pole near her home, but said it cost too much money.

“I’m hoping that this will be better,” Marsh said, referring to access to Hub66.

Other residents in Cornish and Plainfield have also been using StarLink, a satellite internet company, including Fuerst, who has used it for about a year and pays around $120 per month. Previously, he used DSL, which came with its own set of frustrations: In order to back up information on his devices to a cloud system, he’d have to drive to a relative’s house in Cornish Flat to use high-speed internet she has through Comcast. While Fuerst is pleased with StarLink, he said he will likely switch to Hub66 once it is installed.

In addition to helping residents, having improved high-speed internet access could also appeal to people who are considering a move to Cornish.

“One of the first questions asked by the people who are buying homes in Cornish is ‘What’s my internet connection?’ ” Fuerst said. “It’s an important factor.”

Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.