AboutBroadband Equity NOW!
NEWS RELEASE:
New Technology and Federal Rescue Money Make It Possible to Give all Vermont Families Access to the Broadband They Need Now
Vermont Children Shouldn’t Have to Study in the Parking Lot of McDonalds
Thanks to years of building and new technology, fast broadband is now physically available almost everywhere in Vermont; but availability is no help to those families who can’t afford service. Federal Rescue money can and must be used to solve the immediate affordability problem, according to testimony to be delivered to the Senate Finance Committee tomorrow by former Vermont Stimulus Czar Tom Evslin testifying on behalf of the nonprofit Broadband Equity NOW!
SENATORS WILL BE TALKING BROADBAND THIS WEEK.
********ZOOM NEWS CONFERENCE WITH SENATOR RANDY BROCK (R-Franklin County) and Tom Evslin from the Nonprofit Broadband Equity NOW!*********
Date: Monday, April 5, 2021
Time: 12 Noon (ZOOM DETAILS BELOW)
Senator Randy Brock (R, Franklin County) introduced S.118 which allocates money for infrastructure buildout in Vermont and includes a Broadband Corps to help Vermonters get connected. He says: “The pandemic has shown all of us how critical it is to provide universal broadband to every corner of Vermont. It’s essential for economic development, education, and healthcare. But broadband is useless unless it is affordable, especially for those of limited means.”
Evslin will urge legislators to pass a three part Broadband Equity program using $27 million of Rescue funds available from the federal government to assure that all Vermont families, regardless of income or location, have an immediate opportunity to install the broadband they need.
- 1. Appropriate money to subsidize both the install cost and some of the monthly costs of using broadband for low-income Vermonters living in areas where the cost of broadband is currently high.
- 2. Establish and fund a Broadband Corps to assist low-income Vermonters find the best ISP to serve them now, access whatever aid they qualify for, and assure that they actually do get service.
- 3. Require that all internet infrastructure built with federal rescue dollars which flow through the state includes a low-income rate for a service adequate for full participation in the new online Vermont.
Broadband Equity NOW! (BEN) is coordinating preliminary activities by the Community College of Vermont, Vermont Tech, CAP agencies, United Way of NW VT, Vermont 211, Equal Access Broadband and others to assure that the Broadband Corps is “shovel ready”, if approved by the legislature, along with the needed temporary subsidies.
Paul Dragon, CEO of The Champaign Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, says: “At CVOEO access to services and care is the most important thing we do. If we do not increase accessible, low-cost broadband, we cannot further our efforts to educate our Head Start students, create new businesses through our micro-business development program, educate and advocate in our housing programs or increase food access in the Champlain Valley. Without improving access for all populations, public health disparities and economic gaps will persist, widen and deepen. Access to broadband is a social justice and public health issue.”
Tuesday is the first day of testimony in Senate Finance Committee on S.118 and H.360 which is the House bill about broadband construction funds. Evslin says “the planned expansion should happen but even the most optimistic plans for building fiber optic networks leave families at the end of the road waiting at least another five years for service. A student entering high school today whose family doesn’t have broadband may still not have service when she graduates. She will not get a full education. She will not be prepared for the online workplace she’ll soon be entering. Her family needs the opportunity to get connected now.”
According to BEN as many as 50,000 Vermont families don’t have the broadband they need because they either can’t afford it or don’t know how to get hooked up and what low-cost plans are available to them. Some of them live in areas where ISPs have affordable low-income plans. They only need help from the Broadband Corps to find a provider and demonstrate their eligibility. Others live in places where hookups can range from $100 to $600 and where monthly charges for acceptable service can be up to $125/month. They need financial help to get online now.
Over 10,000 Vermonters are reportedly on the waiting list for Starlink which is far faster than the broadband many Vermonters depend on today and is more than sufficient to support Zooming, streaming video, and phone service. The wait for Starlink service may be as much as six months. BEN’s proposal includes subsidies for low income families connecting to Starlink or other new services at the end-of-the-road where those services are the fastest way to get broadband although the majority of families to be subsidized are in the territories of existing ISPs.
As Dr. Fauci said about vaccines, the best broadband you can get is the broadband you can get now. Broadband equity is the foundation for building a new and better Vermont. “We have the money and opportunity to act now to achieve universal broadband availability,” says Evslin. “Not acting would be unjust and irresponsible!”
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Broadband Equity NOW! Is a special purpose Vermont nonprofit. It is providing seed funding and organization for the Broadband Corps so it can be “shovel ready” by August 1, 2021 if further funded by the legislature and is coordinating with CCV, VTC, United Way, Vermont 211, VT Community Foundation, Equal Access Broadband, Capstone, and others for Corps training and support.
ZOOM NEWS CONFERENCE INFORMATION. PLEASE JOIN AND FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
Topic: Affordable Broadband for all Vermonters in Fiscal Year 2022
Time: Apr 5, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 935 5053 0064
Passcode: 905069
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Meeting ID: 935 5053 0064
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For more information contact: Stephanie Gorin 518-572-9288
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