Vermont

Vermont Community Broadband Board is encouraging eligible Vermonters to take advantage of the Affordable Long Drop Program, which helps pay the cost of connecting homes to fiber broadband service. Funding for the program is currently scheduled to end in September 2026, creating a limited-time opportunity for Vermonters that have delayed connecting because of installation costs. The Affordable Long Drop Program assists eligible providers to cover the cost of long or nonstandard broadband connections, including underground installations.

Vermont Community Broadband Board congratulates Communications Union District Maple Broadband on launching Nonprofit Connect, a new program offering all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Maple Broadband’s service area in Addison County (VT) access to Gigabit fiber broadband. It’s their fastest internet available, at the provider's lowest price. Qualifying nonprofits can get Maple Broadband's 1 Gbps Amber Bold fiber internet package at the Amber Light rate of $69.95 per month, a savings of $50.00 per month.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) Final Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The approval authorizes the state to move from planning to implementation of its $93 million federal broadband investment. Vermont was allocated almost $229 million through the BEAD program to expand high-speed, reliable broadband networks across the state to households that currently lack broadband access.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved 50 out of 56 Final Proposals from states and territories to ensure universal broadband access through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. “I am thrilled to announce that NTIA has approved 50 out of 56 Final BEAD Proposals,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth.

Sertex Broadband Solutions has been awarded a $1.58 million contract to expand Vermont’s Deerfield Valley Communications Union District (DVFiber) fiber-to-the-home network across five towns in southeastern Vermont. The expansion project includes approximately 60 miles of new fiber construction in West Brattleboro, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane, and Guilford (VT).

State broadband representatives expressed frustration about the many recent changes made to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. “This is an infrastructure project, and renting space on satellite is not,” said Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, speaking at the AnchorNets2025 conference hosted by the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition. Hallquist said her team has spent long nights fielding repeated questions about Vermont’s BEAD application and facing pressure from the National Telecommunications and Inform

The Vermont Community Broadband Board has approved funding for a statewide program that will help around 2,000 low-income households in remote areas connect to a high-speed broadband network. The board has allocated almost $8 million from its American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Affordable Long Drop program, which will cover the extra costs that households located at the end of long driveways incur.

Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) released the Vermont Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (VT-BEAD) Draft Final Proposal, which is the state’s plan to accomplish the goal of enabling all Vermonters to have access to high-speed reliable broadband. Vermont’s BEAD allocation is almost $229 million. The VT-BEAD Draft Final Proposal lists the provisional grantees of those funds and what technology they plan to use to serve all remaining unserved and underserved addresses in their project areas. The bids included in the Draft Final Proposal total $179,426,004.96.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board is sponsoring a new session of its Broadband Technician Apprenticeship/Pre-Apprenticeship Training in partnership with North Country Career Center. It will be comprehensive training for an entry level broadband network technician. The three-week course will be offered in Montpelier starting September 17, 2025, and is available to participants at no cost. This is the fourth session of the training and is scheduled as Vermont is ready to make the final push on the state’s broadband buildout.