The Emergency Broadband Action Plan (EBAP) was prepared by the Department of Public Service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, 23% of the state – comprising 68,899 business and residential locations – presently does not have access to broadband at 25/3 Mbps – the service speed that defines “broadband” under federal law.
The EBAP has one objective: to connect the unconnected to the internet in Vermont. The “unconnected” is anyone at a location in Vermont that does not have access to broadband at 25/3 Mbps.
If the EBAP’s objective is realized, Vermont will have achieved the deployment of universal access to broadband at the speed of at least 25/3 Mbps. The EBAP funding assumes that Vermont will receive an additional infusion of federal aid to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The EBAP lays out a strategy with action steps. It details immediate measures to improve broadband accessibility. It also proposes using a reverse auction model to achieve universal broadband in comparatively short order. The Department issues this Plan with the goal of establishing Vermont as a ready candidate for future federal broadband support.
Final Draft
The Department of Public Service produced a final draft of the Emergency Broadband Action Plan, which includes public comments received by the Department as of May 24, 2020. Comments were submitted about the draft plan produced in May 2020, from individual citizens, businesses, institutions, nonprofits and Connectivity Union Districts, as well as from the Telecommunications and Connectivity Advisory Board.
The final draft of the EBAP has been revised in response to the public comments received, and is available in two formats:
- Full plan (27 MB, 353 pages, includes all maps and public comments)
- Plan only (1 MB, 30 pages, includes the plan without any appendices)