• Tim Newcomb

A federal program that helps lower-income Vermonters pay for internet connectivity is running out of funding, which would endanger the state's efforts to bring high-speed internet to all.

The Affordable Connectivity Program will no longer accept new enrollments starting this week. While it enjoys bipartisan support, Congress has yet to agree to extend the program, which has been the most successful broadband affordability initiative in the country. It currently assists 25,000 Vermonters.

Money is expected to run out by the end of April. If Congress fails to appropriate additional funding, the nearly 23 million households nationwide that rely on the program to pay for high-speed internet will lose all access.

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“We were all hopeful that Congress would re-up the program,” said Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board. “Because they know that the economic divide is the digital divide.”

The Affordable Connectivity Program has been a crucial element in building out the state’s broadband network. By increasing the number of Vermonters who can afford broadband, the cost of building high-speed infrastructure in some towns has gone down.

But getting Vermonters enrolled in the program was difficult. Hallquist is concerned that even a temporary lapse in funding would result in irreparable damage to the state’s carefully laid broadband network.

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“To get 25,000 families in Vermont connected was quite a challenge,” Hallquist said. “Losing the program is going to create distrust. Will we ever get them back? I don’t know.”

The broadband board is already starting to brainstorm work-around solutions. Communications union districts — clusters of towns that build broadband infrastructure together — and state officials are meeting later this week to consider options for ensuring broadband remains affordable for all Vermonters.

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives — including Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) — introduced the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act in January, which, if adopted, would provide an additional $7 billion for the ACP. The legislation is pending.

The stakes are high, though, and time is running out. Households in Vermont are already getting notices saying their Affordable Connectivity Program subsidy will end soon.

“What use is a [broadband] line going by someone’s house if they can’t afford it?" asked Rob Fish, deputy director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board. “We have no choice; we have to figure this out.”