The Trump administration is holding back more than half of Vermont’s federal broadband money as the state works to connect the final addresses to a high-speed broadband network.
Vermont was expecting to get $229 million through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program, which was originally included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is administering the BEAD program, announced on Monday that Vermont instead would receive $92.8 million.
The Trump administration at first put a hold on the program, and then changed some of the application requirements, forcing states to reapply for the funding.
Vermont submitted its updated proposal in December.
“I think we did a very good job of navigating a challenging policy environment to bring the maximum amount that we can to Vermont,” said Alexi Monsarrat, rural broadband technical assistance specialist at the Vermont Community Broadband Board.
The Trump administration announced the changes to the program this summer, which included removing mandates for climate protection and some labor mandates.
“I think we did a very good job of navigating a challenging policy environment to bring the maximum amount that we can to Vermont."Alexi Monsarrat, Vermont Community Broadband Board.
Christine Hallquist, the Vermont Community Broadband Board’s executive director, said she still believes the state can connect its remaining 15,000 or so addresses with the money it received.
The money the Trump administration withheld was going to be used to fortify Vermont’s broadband system and pay for workforce development.
On top of the reduced funding Vermont was also forced by the Trump administration to use a satellite system to connect the hardest-to-reach addresses.
Hallquist had advocated for connecting as many homes as possible to a high-speed fiber network, and not a satellite system, which she said is less reliable.
But she said under the new rules Vermont had to consider Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system.
Vermont received about $3.2 million for the satellite connections, which will serve about 1,300 homes.
“Some of those people who are going to end up with the low earth orbit satellite are not going to be happy because they don’t get fiber,” Hallquist said.
Many other states besides Vermont received less money than they were expecting.
The federal government says it is considering options for the rest of the funding, and will announce later this year whether states will get the rest of the money.
In Vermont, NEK Broadband received the largest amount of BEAD funding, at $66.6 million.
Six other companies and communications union districts received funding.
In a press release Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott celebrated the news, without acknowledging that the funding was far less than broadband officials had anticipated.
“This is a major milestone for many of our rural towns and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen and revitalize communities,” Scott said.
