Archive for July, 2013
Wednesday, July 24th, 2013
When we switch on our computer every morning and settle into our day’s work, we don’t think about what’s happening to supply the data we seek with a click of the mouse. We expect the information is going to show up at the speed of byte, but when it doesn’t, we really notice it.
Compared to the rest of the country, the Granite State gets high marks for its broadband connections, according to the latest State of the Internet Report, issued this week by Akamai*, which found:
– New England made a strong showing in average broadband connection speeds, with Vermont (#1), New Hampshire (#2, with an average connection speed of 12Mbps and 4th for peak connection speeds of 47.1Mbps), Massachusetts and Connecticut in the top 10;
– “Surprisingly high rates of quarterly growth were seen” in broadband adoption … ranging from 25 percent in New York to 42 percent in New Hampshire;
– “In New Hampshire, nearly half of the connections to Akamai were at speeds above 10 Mbps,” which places the Granite State in first place for high broadband adoption (above 10Mbps) and first place for broadband adoption (above 4 Mbps), which represents a change of 65 percent and 6.5 percent respectively.
“Although there is still more work to be done, New Hampshire has made tremendous progress in broadband deployment,” said Carol Miller, director of Broadband Technologies at the Division of Economic Development. “It is testament to New Hampshire’s high-tech industry and provider investments in infrastructure. Broadband expansion and increases in capacity are the result of the innovative market place responding to the needs of a knowledge base economy. New Hampshire has increased broadband availability from 73 percent in 2010 to 88 percent in the first quarter of this year.”
The challenge remains, she said, in getting broadband to the rural areas of New Hampshire, where geography is a factor.
Broadband is an important tool in economic development and businesses and service providers expect what we all expect: Fast and reliable internet connection.
“It improves our ability to recruit and retain business and helps businesses to increase their profitability,” Miller said. “It enhances our quality of life because no matter where we live, we can use to the web to attend college and increase our education and that is attractive to skilled workers.”
Broadband also helps with healthcare monitoring, no matter where you are, and is another to help keep us safe.
“Simply put, broadband brings opportunities to New Hampshire’s economy that might otherwise be missed,” Miller said.
*Akamai’s State of the Internet Report is based on data gathered on its network of more than 250,000 servers. Akamai is a distributed cloud computing platform that’s distributed worldwide.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
NH Division of Economic Development
Tags: broadband and economic development, Broadband in New Hampshire, Carol Miller, Director of Broadband Technolgies NH, New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Broadband in New Hampshire: It’s got Byte
Friday, July 19th, 2013
Small businesses interested in learning more about the wide-ranging effects of the Affordable Care Act are invited to a free forum scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8 at the Southern New Hampshire University Dining Center Banquet Facility.
Countdown to Oct. 1, 2013: The Affordable Care Act and Your Small Business will provide all of the information New Hampshire companies will need to comply with the employer mandate to offer health coverage to employees. Topics to be discussed include coverage for dependents and spouses, qualifications for the health premium tax credit, the composition of the new health exchange and the portion of insurance costs employers will be obligated to pay.
Athough many of the concepts explored will center around small business, larger employers will also find this conference helpful.
 Tom Raffio “This is a great opportunity to get ahead of the curve and learn how your company will be affected by this legislation,” said Northeast Delta Dental President and CEO Tom Raffio. (Read his guest blog on the topic.) “Having the right information prior to the introduction of the Act is crucial and we look forward to educating as many small businesses as possible with the help of some top industry experts.”
Presenters will include New Hampshire Insurance Department Commissioner Roger Sevigny, as well as representatives of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Northeast Delta Dental, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Great New Hampshire Restaurants, Inc.
The forum is presented by the Center for Women’s Business Advancement at Southern New Hampshire University in coordination with Northeast Delta Dental, WGIR-AM, the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, Southern New Hampshire University and New Hampshire Business Review.
Registration is required.
Tags: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Great New Hampshire Restaurants, Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, New Hampshire Insurance Department Commissioner Roger Sevigny, Northeast Delta Denta, Southern New Hampshire University, U.S. Small Business Administration, WGIR-AM
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Free Affordable Care Act Forum Offered to NH Businesses
Friday, July 12th, 2013
We joined a couple of hundred people yesterday afternoon in Rochester for the grand opening of the Advanced Technology and Academic Center at Great Bay Community College. We toured the bright white room where students are now learning about composite manufacturing and it could be pretty dry stuff, but we were struck by a couple of things.
 Alexander and Hunter Uyeno, 9, investigate a composite The first were two curious boys – 9-year-old twins – Alexander and Hunter Uyeno. They were wearing safety glasses and intently investigating the displays of equipment and composite materials.
Why were they there? Because their mom, Kerri, was. She is a student there. She enrolled last month and she thought it was time they see “what Mom is doing.” Later in the program, after addresses by Gov. Hassan and President Will Arvelo, she told of being a single mom, of needing a good job and the confidence that in enrolling here, she is on the road to great things.
 Alexander and Hunter Uyeno – the future of advanced manufacturing She also pointed to her boys as being “the face of advanced manufacturing in a couple of years.”
 Jonathan Flannery and Gov. Hassan Jonathan Flannery also told a very personal story about the loss of two women dearest to him and how, with the support of family and friends, he is finding a future by enrolling in the the program here.
 Julie Lapierre Julie Lapierre is a longtime resident of Rochester. She talked about how she, after last being in a classroom about 40 years ago, she enrolled in the school to start a new career because for her, it wasn’t too late to learn something new.
At the end of a week, we leave you with these snapshots of new beginnings, for Kerri, her boys, Jonathan and Julie, Great Bay Community College, the Seacoast and New Hampshire.
Congratulations and very best wishes!
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
Tags: Advanced Technology and Academic Center, Great Bay Community College, New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Great Bay Community College: The Start of Great Things
Monday, July 8th, 2013
If you are in the vicinity of Rochester on Thursday evening, make plans to spend a little time in the city for a celebration.
 Great Bay Community College’s new Advance Technology & Academic Center (ATAC), Rochester Between 5 and 7 pm, Great Bay Community College will celebrate its new Advanced Technology & Academic Center (better known as ATAC), which is located at the Lilac Mall. More than a education center, it is going to help put the Seacoast on a flight path to success, as the area becomes known as an emerging composites region.
The ATAC is the largest single project under the statewide Advanced Manufacturing Partnership in Education initiative (AMPedNH), formed by the Community College System of New Hampshire under the federal TAACCCT-NH grant. AMPed NH is sponsored by a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration.
Great Bay’s advanced composites manufacturing curriculum at the ATAC was developed to fit the needs of area manufacturers — among those, Albany Engineered Composites and Safran Aerospace Composites. These two companies are co-locating in a new manufacturing plant at the Granite State Business Park. The plant, set to open in a couple of months, is being built by Safran and is expected to add about 500 jobs to the local market. Representatives of both companies will be available to talk about the advanced composites manufacturing industry and opportunities within the region.
“This center is a wonderful educational resource for anyone interested in what Great Bay has to offer,” said college President Will Arvelo. “Now residents of Strafford County and beyond can conveniently take a course at Rochester – whether it be a general education or liberal arts course or something from a specific field – and those seeking training opportunities in advanced composites manufacturing now have a state-of-the art facility practically in their backyard.”
Gov. Maggie Hassan will attend, as well as other officials. If you attend, you can enter to win free tuition for one year – a value of up to $5,000. Representatives from the College Admissions, Financial Aid and WorkReady NH can answer your questions.
For more information on the free event, visit www.gbrochester.com or call 1-800-522-1194.
See you there.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
Tags: AerospaceNH, Albany Engineered Composites, Granite State Business Park, Great Bay Community College, New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, nh, Rochester, Safran, WorkReadyNH
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Thursday: A Great Day for Great Bay
Monday, July 1st, 2013
Doing business with the government is not like doing business with typical businesses. Transparency, accountability and fairness are the hallmarks of spending by a government agency, so there are procedures and processes to follow.
Finding out where your business fits in the state and local government purchasing market can be difficult task. The New Hampshire state and local government purchasing market is a $1 billion industry and a variety of goods and services are bought each year.
And we mean variety.
It can range from something as simple as bundles of camp wood to be sold at our state parks or as a large as a new dormitory at a state university.
 Mark Manganiello is an intern with NH-PTAP and helped organize the New Hampshire State and Local Vendor Fair July 11. So how can you find out more about doing business with the government? Come to the New Hampshire State and Local Vendor Fair from 8 am to noon at the Arthur D. Kehas Criminal Justice Training Facility here in Concord.
Over 60 people from state agencies and municipalities will be on hand to help you determine if your product or services are of interest to the state and local governments. If you already know your business is marketable to state and local governments, then this event is useful to get information on where the market is heading, changes in the process, update contact information and to let state and local officials know about your company.
The businesses attending this event range from those that are extremely experienced in working with state and local governments and some businesses that are still novices to the market. Those attending will have one-on-one interaction with government employees and get to the bottom of two questions everyone entering the state and local market should ask — Who is buying what and how do they buy it?
Businesses need this information so they can offer the best value in their sales to the government and to insure a competitive bid process. Government needs to distribute this information to make their procedures and purchasing as transparent as possible.
We’ll see you on July 11. Please take a moment to register here. Bring lots of business cards and let the matchmaking begin.
Mark Manganiello
Intern
New Hampshire Procurement and Technical Assistance Program
Tags: New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, NH State and Local Vendor Fair, NH_PTAP
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on NH’s State and Local Governments are Open for Business
|
