Richard Knox: Time to add 'facilitating broadband' to coop's charter

To The Daily Sun,

I’m writing to correct a mischaracterization in a letter published May 28 on the N.H. Electric Cooperative’s annual election now underway — and to explain what the mischaracterized ballot proposition is really all about.

The proposal, put on the ballot through a petition signed by 845 coop members, would change the coop’s bylaws to include “facilitating broadband” in the utility’s charter. In his letter to the Sun, Earl Hansen of Holderness, a former coop board chair, wrote that the proposed change is “an expensive proposition to undertake a whole new industry” — namely, broadband internet — that “would detract from the present mission of distribution and conservation of electricity.”

Not so, Mr. Hansen! In fact, current coop board member Leo Dwyer, a leader of the broadband initiative, stated at a recent board meeting that he would vote NO on any proposal for the coop to finance, build or operate a broadband network. At that meeting the board voted 10 to 0, with one abstention, to look into what role the coop might play to facilitate fast, reliable, affordable internet service for many thousands of coop members who now lack it, or are unhappy with their current internet service.

The proposed bylaw change would simply ensure that new-found intention would guide future decisions. It’s an echo of the founding purpose of the 81-year-old coop: to bring an essential utility to rural areas at a time when privately owned utilities showed little interest. As the current pandemic amply shows, good, affordable internet is just as essential now as electricity was in 1939. And it surely will be after the pandemic is over. Well over 100 electric cooperatives across the nation have already realized that they’re a natural vehicle to help bring their members this vital service.

How? To start with, the N.H. Coop owns about 100,000 utility poles throughout its 114-town service area. It can either put up barriers that make it difficult for internet developers to build infrastructure, or it can partner with developers to make it predictable and financially feasible to string fiber-optic cable. That’s a make-or-break deal in this business.

Beyond that, the coop’s credibility and expertise would make a crucial difference. Having the coop on board would attract existing and new federal subsidies for rural broadband, as our elected representatives in Washington well know. The coop’s partnership would attract private investment. And contrary to what some have asserted, such partnering would not raise electric rates. It would facilitate the “smart grid” of the future, ensuring more efficient distribution of electrical power and lowering rates.

In addition to Mr. Dwyer, who is running for re-election, two other candidates — William Darcy and Mark Portu — are enthusiastic supporters of the broadband proposition. They have strong resumes that would make them valuable board members.

The time is opportune for adding “facilitating broadband” to the coop’s charter. Just ask members who are currently struggling with inadequate internet service — or paying too much to monopoly internet.

Richard Knox

Center Sandwich