Fearful of losing federal pandemic dollars, officials from states across the country are rushing to finish projects by the end of the year aimed at expanding broadband internet into underserved areas.
A Consolidated Communications technician works on a line used to provide broadband internet service in a rural area on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, in Stowe, Vt. Vermont officials are working to expand internet service using federal pandemic relief funds. But they are scrambling because the projects, which can frequently take years to plan and build, must be done by the end of the year.
In Vermont, the Legislature cut back on what lawmakers would have liked to allocate from $100 million to less than $20 million. They didn't believe they could have spent the larger amount on time, despite the need. Potential contractors that usually plan years in advance are having to rearrange their schedules to do the work, said June Tierney, commissioner of the public service department, which expects to issue the first contracts in the coming days.
“We’re moving as fast as we can regardless, but hopefully they’ll give us more time,” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said during a recent news conference. “No one has ever had to work this fast before,” said State Rep. Tom Stevens, a Democrat who is the chairman of the House Committee that deals with housing issues.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, whose Vermont home is located on a dirt road just outside Montpelier and has internet service that doesn’t meet the working definition of broadband, said he's been working to provide more flexibility in the pandemic relief package being discussed in Congress now.
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