Vermont Municipality Gets a $16M State Broadband Grant

NEK Broadband has been awarded a grant valued at virtually $16 million by The Vermont Neighborhood Broadband Board (VCBB) as a part of an effort to offer broadband to 10 communities within the state.

NEK Broadband is a communications union district (CUD) that represents each city in Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties, in addition to Wolcott in Lamoille County. A CUD is a non-profit municipal entity that gives or goals to offer broadband in Vermont to 2 or extra cities which might be underserved or unserved. A CUD can fund operations by grants, debt and donations — however not taxes.

NEK, whose award is for $15,899,089, was the primary service supplier to get a Communications Union District (CUD) grant by the Act 71 Broadband Building Program, in keeping with a press launch concerning the Vermont state broadband grant. The VCBB unanimously accepted the appliance in April.

The funding will allow the development of 215 miles of fiber that may present service to 1,479 households. Preliminary deployments will probably be in Harmony, Kirby and Waterford. Further building is anticipated to serve Brighton, Burke, East Haven, Lyndon, Newark, Sutton and Wheelock.

“The grant software course of was rigorous and included thorough vetting from CTC, an unbiased advisor contracted by VCBB,” Evan Carlson, the Governing Board Chair of the CUD stated in an e mail to the governing board. “It speaks volumes to the work of our staff, and in addition establishes a path for different CUDs within the state. I’m personally impressed to see NEK main the way in which.”

The choice of NEK was based mostly on the service supplier’s Common Service Plan, which is able to present every on-grid underserved 911 handle within the Northeast Kingdom with excessive velocity connectivity. The $16 million in funding is the primary of an anticipated $104 million in grants that can pay for many of the venture, which is anticipated to value a complete of $185 million.

NEK beforehand acquired $8.25 million for supplies purchases and pre-construction of as many as 2,800 miles of fiber for residents and companies within the Northeast Kingdom and Wolcott.

In September 2021, NEK made a take care of Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT) to function a community for the CUD. WCVT additionally has a deal to construct a community for an additional Vermont CUD, Maple Broadband.

Joan Engebretson contributed to this report.