Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.5 Million to Vermont in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Vermont received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Vermont is receiving $5,518,154.20 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. Vermont will receive $5 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including: 

• Supporting development of a comprehensive Five-Year Action Plan that will identify Vermont's broadband access, affordability, equity, and adoption needs;
• Research and data collection, including initial identification of unserved locations and underserved locations;
• Asset mapping to catalogue broadband adoption, affordability, equity, access, and deployment activities.

Vermont will receive $518,154.20 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:

• Helping close the digital equity gap and the development of a Statewide Digital Equity Plan;
• Developing a comprehensive accounting of the accessibility of online public resources and services along with the level of literacy of the current and potential users of these services;
• Engaging community members and conducting resource asset mapping to build interactive public maps for planning and program implementation.