State officials want to use about $2.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money to help low-income Vermonters get hooked up to a nearby broadband network.
The Vermont Community Broadband Board has the money left over from its American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, fund, and the money has to be spent before the end of 2026.
At its meeting on Sept. 9, the board will vote on a proposal to use the money for a so-called Long Drop program, to connect homes that are located more than 400 feet from the fiber cable, which is generally what the service provider will pay for.
The program will also help pay for any connection that requires a conduit, or underground connection.
“We have to remember this is a long game, and we’re actually only a few years into it,” said Ellie de Villiers, executive director of Maple Broadband, the communications union district that serves Middlebury and 19 other towns in Addison County.
“One of the milestones should be, when does every address in the state have access to fiber,” de Villiers continued. “And another milestone should be, when have we removed all of these other barriers to make sure people who want access can afford it when we’re talking about the last couple of feet between the mainline and the house?”
Across the Maple Broadband service area, de Villiers says more than half of the customers have some amount of distance they have to pay for to connect to the network.
She says because of Vermont’s topography it is an expense for all customers, and even moderate-income customers could be looking at paying several thousand dollars or more if they have to bury their cable in the ground.
She supports the proposed state assistance but worries that it is a larger challenge than this grant program will be able to address.
“I think that we can all agree that people who are low income and are of greater need should be the priority,” she said. “But one of the things with buried service is that this can be barrier for even people of middle income. It’s great to start to address it, but it is going to be a longer-term challenge.”
Vermont Community Broadband Board Deputy Director Rob Fish said there are at least 1,000 addresses across the state that would benefit from the program.
He says the program will prioritize manufactured home communities and households that are eligible for other state assistance programs.
Vermont received $245 million in ARPA funding for its broadband build-out.
Most of that money has been given out to the CUDs, the local, nonprofit groups that are organizing the high speed fiber construction across the state.
Fish said the board wants to get the program in place because it will take a while to develop and administer before the 2026 deadline for spending the money.
Along with the ARPA money, the board wants to use $1.2 million from the Connectivity Initiative funding program, a state program funded with federal grants.
“We want the money to be out there connecting people,” Fish said. “We identified this need and want to deploy. Vermonters have been waiting long enough.”
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