MONTPELIER – The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) has a 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.
photo by Paul Fixx
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 to 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 many thousands of dollars, making getting connected to broadband impossible for some Vermonters.
Christa Shute, executive director of Northeast Central Broadband (NENEKCV has seen this firsthand. “The Affordable Drop Program will allow NEK Broadband and CVFiber to serve hundreds of potential customers that have signed up but could not afford to put in the necessary underground conduit from the pole line to their house. With 71 towns and three of the lowest income counties, NEKCV is focused on maximizing the value of the program for our rural residents.” She encourages all Vermonters that will need an underground or other nonstandard drop to their home to visit their Communications Union District website to sign up for service and benefit from this program.
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.
“Having high-speed internet in your neighborhood means nothing if you can’t afford to connect to it. This program is designed to be the final push that turns availability into true accessibility, opening the world of opportunities that come with a reliable broadband connection, from jobs to education, telehealth, social and so much more,” said VCBB Digital Equity Officer Britaney Watson.
“While grant programs such as the Vermont Community Broadband Fund have helped CUDs bring fiber-optic service to underserved areas, funding to connect every household remains a challenge. The cost of some of these connections is simply too high for households as well as rural providers such as CUDs,” said Ellie de Villiers, chair of the Vermont Communications Union Districts Association (VCUDA) and executive director of Maple Broadband. “The Affordable Long Drop Program will directly address this issue.”
Eligible providers are Communications Union Districts (CUDs), small communications carriers, or internet service providers working in conjunction with a CUD to expand broadband service to unserved and underserved Vermont locations as part of a plan to achieve universal broadband coverage in the district. All applicants must have an approved universal service plan and a viable business plan.
Applications from eligible providers will be accepted starting August 29, until September 12. Find more information on the VCBB at publicservice.vermont.gov/vcbb Contact a CUD to find out if you could benefit from this program. If a town is not part of a CUD, email the VCBB at [email protected] with your town name and any information you have about the nonstandard drop you will require.
NEKCV is a Communications Union District (CUD) serving Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom as NEK Broadband and Central Vermont as CVFiber. NEKCV provides, or plans to provide high-speed internet access to 71 towns across the Northeast Kingdom and Central Vermont, including some or all of the 11 towns covered by The Hardwick Gazette. It is a community-driven organization committed to bringing affordable, reliable internet to rural and underserved areas. Learn more at nekcv.org.
