Vermont’s Broadband Buildout to be Nearly Complete After BEAD Program

Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) has preliminary applications from internet service providers (ISPs) to serve nearly every eligible address in the state under Vermont’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (VT-BEAD) Program. Vermont’s allocation of BEAD funds is almost $229 million. The applications were from a preliminary round, which was a mandatory step for any ISP seeking VT-BEAD funds for broadband construction. It required ISPs to indicate which areas of the state they would serve and what type of service they would provide (fiber optic, cable, fixed wireless, etc.). Eligible VT-BEAD locations are defined as those with service of 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload or less. 100 percent of these eligible locations, which make up the majority of unserved and underserved addresses statewide, received at least one preliminary application, and 95 percent of eligible locations received a preliminary application that will provide fiber optic service. Nine ISPs submitted preliminary applications. The VCBB has divided the state into 32 project areas containing 16,895 eligible locations that will be open for VT-BEAD Full Proposals on March 6, 2025. The VCBB designed the areas to maximize fiber deployment by incentivizing fiber optic bids and healthy competition. VT-BEAD funds are expected to be awarded late this year, and projects must be complete four years after ISPs receive funds.