With bill sponsor Sen. Deborah Reynolds, D-Plymouth, looking on, Gov. John Lynch signed legislation Monday at the Holderness Town Hall that moves the state one step closer to widely available broadband Internet service.

Senate Bill 159-FN creates a state director of broadband technology and Reynolds, who made expanded technology to rural New Hampshire a key part of her 2006 senatorial campaign, said the economic future of the state depends in part on access to current Internet technology.

"I can't start a conversation at the Statehouse without saying broadband," Reynolds said after getting some gentle teasing from Lynch about her persistence in pursuing this legislation. "I want to publicly thank and recognize Governor Lynch for his commitment and support of this important step forward."

"This is a state of small business," Lynch said in a brief speech before signing the bill. "If our economy is to be competitive into the future, we need a high-technology infrastructure that is available to every part of our state.

"This new law will help us achieve our goal of expanding broadband and advanced telecommunications in New Hampshire."

Lynch told the gathering of nearly 40 people, that included state representatives, selectmen from Holderness and surrounding communities and a variety of small-business owners and operators, that expanding broadband technology is a "perfect way to attract different kinds of businesses to New Hampshire."

While broadband is an all-encompassing term, it is generally defined as a way to use fiber optics to afford faster transmission of data that does not generally disrupt telephone use. Unless provided by satellite, most rural areas in New Hampshire access the Internet through slower, more expensive and less-efficient telephone lines through service called "dial-up."

Its many uses for rural New Hampshire range from allowing small businesses faster and more efficient use of computers to giving better technology to schools and public safety officials.

While state representatives from both sides of the aisle joined Lynch in Holderness, Rep. Margie Maybeck, R-Holderness, was one of the ones who was not there because she said she didn't think it was responsible at this time to create another position in the state government.

"We ought to stand up for out constituents who have been taxed to death," said Maybeck, explaining that she wanted her constituents to know why she couldn't support it at this time.

Until now, Lynch said the state's efforts toward expanding broadband have been "fragmented" and that a single director, under the umbrella of the State Department of Resources and Development, will make the efforts more comprehensive.

Reynolds said the director's position will be initially funded through federal stimulus money and a fiscal note attached to S.B. 159 estimates the position to pay just over $50,000 annually with a total estimated cost of $82,000.

The primary duties of the director will be to work with the Telecommunications Planning and Development Advisory Committee and DRED to expand technology services through the use of federal grants and public-private enterprises.

The director also will act as an agent for recruiting and retaining high-technology companies in the state.

GAIL OBER/Citizen photo GOV. JOHN LYNCH talks with Phoenix Turcotte before he signs a bill creating a Director of Boradband Technology in Holderness Monday afternoon.