ATSC 3.0 Funding Statement from NHPBS

DURHAM, NH (February 21, 2024) - New Hampshire PBS is grateful to the Governor and Executive Council, members of the General Court fiscal committee and Division of Emergency Services and Communications for the grant award from the Federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) funds for the costs associated with transitioning to enhanced emergency-communication systems for public safety.

These ARPA funds will allow NHPBS to be on the forefront of states to transition for the NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0), a free, over-the-air (OTA) service, which combines broadcast television with broadcast internet.

This conversion will add strength and depth to New Hampshire public safety communications across the state through:

• Datacasting of real-time emergency response to first responders regardless of radio and cell access.
• Providing local alerts and warnings in real-time and targeted to specific zip codes.
• Continued hosting of local/state emergency networks with an opt-in feature to participate in the NHPBS ATSC 3.0 datacasting stream.
• Weather and disaster emergency notifications with localized event mapping, evacuation routes and emergency instructions to individuals, businesses, and others in the targeted area.

NHPBS will accomplish this unique opportunity to transition early and provide Granite State residents, businesses, public safety, hospitals and other life-saving communication systems providers with new transformational technology.

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
Director of Communications
crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339