UNH center receives $1m grant for broadband research

Goal is to work toward universal, affordable broadband service

A grant to the University of New Hampshire’s Broadband Center of Excellence (BCoE) from the YAS Foundation will help expand the center’s efforts to leverage UNH research and technology to ensure universal and affordable broadband service worldwide.

The $1 million, seven-year grant will establish UNH as a thought leader and advance the effective use of broadband technologies at the university officials said.

The BCoE is an unbiased resource for government, universities, researchers, communities and corporations that provides information about broadband. These funds will be directed at projects and programs that support BCoE’s current key areas of focus:

 • Technologies enabling broadband access for those underserved and unserved

 • Policy, financial and human studies addressing affordable broadband, or “broadband for all”

 • Practical applications and services to empower “smart cities” using broadband

 • Advanced research of innovative broadband technologies to help maintain our nation’s competitive status globally.

 “The BCoE has developed an aggressive list of objectives for the coming year that will serve to expand broadband availability in New Hampshire and elsewhere, and help extend broadband to those who are unserved or underserved,” said Jan Nisbet, UNH senior vice provost for research.

“In stark terms, having more than four billion global citizens without adequate access to broadband and the economic lifeblood it provides is truly disheartening,” said Rouzbeh Yassini, BCoE’s executive director. “We want to seek out like-minded thought leaders and collaborate to achieve the large economic successes that ubiquitous broadband will provide.”