The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) awarded $58.9 million in grants to Vermont’s Communications Union Districts (CUDs) this summer. The construction grants were approved to expand broadband in five different CUDs across the state, bringing broadband to at least 13,000 currently underserved homes and businesses.
The most recent grants were approved earlier this month. They include a $13.59 million grant to Lamoille FiberNet and a $9.95 million grant to Otter Creek. ECFiber was awarded a $13.23 million grant in August, and in July VCBB approved $17.94 million in additional funds to NEK Broadband and $2.16 million in additional funds to Maple Broadband.
Act 71 established the Broadband Construction Grant Program in 2021 to provide grants to finance the broadband projects of eligible providers that are part of a Universal Service Plan. A Universal Service Plan is a plan for providing each on-grid unserved and underserved location in a Communications Union District or in a municipality that is not part of a Communications Union District, access to broadband service capable of speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload. Funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to cover construction costs (materials, equipment, labor) related to broadband projects.
Read the full press release.