Vermont Community Broadband Board Announces New Program to Help Ensure All Vermonters Can Get Connected to Broadband

The Vermont Community Broadband Board has a new program to help Vermonters afford to get connected to broadband. The Affordable Long Drop Program will provide grants to eligible providers to cover connection costs for long or nonstandard drops, including underground installations. Providers currently pay costs that exceed routine installation fees to connect addresses that are considered standard drops. Those are for houses that are closer than 500-2,000 feet from the fiber that runs along utility poles on the road, depending on the provider. Customers are required to pay additional costs to connect their homes if they’re farther from the road. That cost can be up to many thousands of dollars, making getting connected to broadband impossible for some Vermonters. The Affordable Long Drop Program will prioritize funding for manufactured home communities, low- and moderate-income Vermonters, and customers at eligible addresses who have signed up and committed to service.