The Vermont Community Broadband Board was awarded more than $228 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to continue its high-speed internet deployment across the state, the board announced on Thursday.
That’s about $100 million more than the board members initially thought Vermont would receive. A December 2022 broadband accessibility map that was to serve as a basis for determining federal aid had errors, the board said at the time. An estimated 20,000 Vermont addresses that lacked access to high-speed internet were erroneously shown as having it. The board urged Vermonters to challenge the map and issued instructions on its website. Thousands answered the call, resulting in an adjustment.
“This money was hard earned by Vermonters that want to get connected,” said Rob Fish, deputy director of the board. “This is a moment that we are celebrating.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Broadband Equity, Access and Development Program — allocates $65 billion for expanding affordable and reliable high-speed internet access, especially for people in underserved areas. In short, the spending is to wire up areas that for-profit companies have not.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently launched a series of grant programs funded by the law. About 26 states have been approved so far.
Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, said Vermont is about halfway through its broadband rollout. “The goal has always been to get to universal service,” Hallquist said. “This injection of funding just accelerated the process significantly.”
The announcement comes on the heels of progress for U.S. Sen. Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, which would potentially reinstate funding to help lower-income Americans pay for internet connectivity. A Senate committee advanced the measure on Wednesday.
Hallquist and Fish are hopeful that the extension will receive bipartisan support — and pass — after the presidential election.
This article appears in Seven Daysies 2024.
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