Delaware officials celebrate $100 million federal investment to expand state’s high-speed internet access
WILMINGTON, Del. ,
July 12, 2024
WILMINGTON, Del. – Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester and U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (all D-Del.) today celebrated the announcement that Delaware will receive more than $100 million in federal funds to expand access to broadband. The funds are part of the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program created as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to increase American’s access to high-speed internet, regardless of location. As part of the BEAD program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced Delaware will receive $102.8 million. The funds will be made available following the submission and NTIA approval of the state’s final proposal for broadband infrastructure planning, deployment, and adoption. The state’s BEAD-funded program has been one of the first in the country through many of the federally required planning steps to administer the funds that were initially announced for Delaware in 2022. This week’s announcement is based on Delaware’s “challenge process” for determining served locations recently being approved. The Delaware Department of Technology and Information’s (DTI) State Broadband Office is currently in the process of selecting vendors to install broadband fiber to under-served locations around the state, with installation possibly beginning by the end of the year. “In 2024, affordable and reliable internet access isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity,” said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “I’m proud that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Senator Carper, Senator Coons, and I championed in Congress will bring more than $100 million to expand internet access to every corner of our state no matter your ZIP code. I’ll continue to advocate in Congress to expand internet affordability and accessibility so that Delawareans can stay connected.” “Internet access is a vital connection to the world, but not every Delawarean has access, especially in our rural and under-served communities,” said Senator Carper. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I helped pass through Congress, this investment will go a long way to expand high-speed internet access up and down the First State, and level the playing field for schools, businesses, and homes that have gone too long without it.”
“The pandemic showed us that access to affordable, reliable broadband internet is a necessity for learning, working, or participating in society today,” said Senator Coons. “Still, too many families up and down Delaware and across the country lack easy access to the internet connections they need for school or their job. President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver real solutions for the everyday problems standing in the way of equity.” “Thanks to the BEAD funding and the speed with which our state broadband team at DTI is moving, we plan for Delaware be the first state in the country to connect every home and business,” said Governor Carney. “It has been a priority for me to get service to all those areas and Delawareans that don’t have the internet speed and service most of us take for granted, and we are getting there.” ### |
