Broadband

Vermont is waiting on $229 million in federal broadband funding, but President-elect Donald Trump has been critical of the program that is funding that work.

The Public Utility Commission says it will allow Searchlight Capital Partners to purchase Consolidated Communications, Vermont's largest telecommunications company. The deal still needs federal approval.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board will vote on a proposal to use $2.5 million in ARPA funding to help customers pay for their connections to broadband network.

The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program will bring $229 million to the state — one-third of all the money Vermont needs to supply everyone with high-speed broadband service.

Deerfield Valley Fiber, which serves 24 towns in southern Vermont, asked the Vermont Community Broadband Board this week to make changes to its federal grant contract.

If Congress doesn’t act, a $14 billion federal program that subsidizes high-speed internet for low-income households will run out of money in April. More than 25,000 Vermonters will be impacted, nearly half of whom are 50 or older.

This comes after the state announced a dollar-for-dollar matching program last year.

The board's digital equity officer discusses barriers to overcome, from the cost of broadband to some Vermonters' need for basic digital skills.

"We understand that there are students who don’t have internet access at home — and a lot of those kids are in rural America,” said Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in a visit to Vermont.

The Scott administration took $20 million that was earmarked for the state's broadband buildout to fund flood relief, and some officials are concerned it could slow down broadband buildout if the money's not replaced in time.