Massive Investment for High-Speed Internet Officially Obligated to Vermont by U.S. Department of Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chair of the Rural Development Subcommittee and member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, today applauded the Biden-Harris Administration’s investment of over $228 million to build out high-speed affordable internet in Vermont. 

This funding is allocated through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. It has been officially obligated to Vermont following the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) approval of Vermont’s Internet for All plan to deliver broadband to underserved communities. The BEAD program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Senator Welch helped pass as a member of the House of Representatives. The State of Vermont will be selecting the recipients of grant funds through a competitive process over the next year, with funds expected to flow by late 2025. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration has helped Vermont unlock over $228 million to build out high-speed broadband and get tens of thousands of Vermonters connected to today’s digital economy. It’s a promise made to rural America, and a promise kept to rural America,” said Senator Welch. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has transformed our communities, helping us rebuild and modernize our roads, bridges, public transit, expand EVs and solar, and more. But it’s also helped us modernize our digital infrastructure too, and this funding from the Department of Commerce’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program will be transformational in connecting the thousands of homes, small businesses and farms in Vermont that don’t have access to a high speed to the affordable broadband they need.  

“I thank Christine Hallquist for her leadership, and congratulate her team at the Vermont Community Broadband Board for this accomplishment,” Senator Welch continued. “The VCBB has been instrumental in connecting Vermonters in every community to high-speed internet, and has been working tirelessly to close the digital divide. This funding has been a journey for our state dating back to the negotiations to strengthen the rural broadband provisions within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law back in 2021, and we can now get down to the business of delivering these funds so that all Vermonters can enjoy accessible high-speed internet and all the economic, social, and community benefits broadband provides.” 

“This is an exciting time for all Vermonters as we are on the verge of receiving this generous amount of federal funds that will enable all Vermonters to access high-speed, reliable broadband. Thank you to the Biden-Harris Administration and to Sen. Welch and the other members of Vermont’s Congressional Delegation for this funding. Rural Vermont will now have the same quality of service as their urban counterparts,” said VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist. 

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