President Joe Biden today announced that Vermont will receive $229 million to expand access to broadband in the state. The funds are part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which will provide $42.45 billion nationwide for planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs across the country.
“Ensuring access to broadband is incredibly important to our work to revitalize communities in every corner of Vermont. This significant funding boost builds on the historic investments and progress we’ve made over the last three years, which is very good news,” said Governor Phil Scott. “I appreciate the continued support from President Biden and Congress for broadband as a vital infrastructure investment.”
“The VCBB is extremely grateful for Vermont’s allocation. We’d like to thank President Biden and Vermont’s Congressional Delegation for these federal dollars. This is a huge step toward our goal of getting all Vermonters connected to broadband,” said VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist.
Work is underway on the five-year plan to put Vermont’s BEAD allocation to work for all Vermonters. The plan will be available for public comment next month.