Vermont Congressional Delegation Announces First USDA ReConnect Grant to Vermont

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter Welch (D-VT) and Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) announced that NEK Community Broadband (NEKCB) will receive Vermont’s first-ever United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties in Vermont. NEK Broadband will receive more than $17 million in grant funds through USDA ReConnect, helping to connect some of the most rural communities in Vermont with affordable, high-speed internet. The announcement comes as part of Sen. Welch’s first hearing as Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee on the importance of expanding broadband access.