Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Approves Vermont’s Broadband Build Out Plan 

Welch: “This is a huge moment for Vermont.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today celebrated the NTIA’s final approval of Vermont’s ‘Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) plan, which will support the deployment of rural broadband to communities in Vermont.

“This is a huge moment for Vermont. I’m elated that Vermonters across the state will soon be connected to the broadband they need to thrive in today’s digital economy. By working together, federal and state leaders secured tens of millions of dollars to support the build-out of high-speed, affordable broadband for Vermont families, workers, and communities. I applaud the NTIA’s final approval of this plan, and I extend my thanks and congratulations to Executive Director Christine Hallquist and the Vermont Community Broadband Board, as well as Governor Scott, for working side-by-side with broadband leaders across our state to accomplish this momentous goal,” said Senator Welch. 

“I want to thank the congressional delegation, the Governor, the legislature and the VCBB Board for their collective efforts to make this happen. We are in the final chapter of decades of work to get Vermonters connected to reliable Broadband. The funding from this program will enable the last 5% and the hardest to serve locations to be finally connected. We look forward to leveraging this infrastructure to improve the communities and lives of rural Vermonters,” said VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist.

Senator Welch championed the BEAD program, which was created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and signed into law by President Biden in 2021. In 2024, he announced the Biden-Harris Administration’s investment of nearly $230 million in high-speed, affordable broadband, in Vermont. 

As Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, and as a former member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees NTIA, Senator Welch worked with Vermont leaders to secure this federal funding. Funding will now be distributed to BEAD applicants in the state, who will soon connect households and businesses with fiber, fixed-wireless, and satellite internet.  

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