A federal grant puts Delaware one step closer to statewide high-speed internet access.
The state is getting $107 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant program to accelerate efforts to add broadband infrastructure in areas not previously served by internet service companies.
The state is currently using $33 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund an 18-month effort to connect more than 6,000 homes and businesses to high-speed internet - expanding broadband infrastructure in areas not previously served by internet service companies.
Delaware Broadband Office Executive Director Roddy Flynn says this new funding will be used to serve nearly 15,000 more homes and businesses that still need attention.
“These are addresses that might have some internet service, but it's not at a speed or reliability that we consider to be what's really needed in the year 2023 for people to have multiple folks in their household on devices at the same time. For example, one student doing remote learning, an adult doing remote work, and someone else streaming.”
Reliable internet access is critical for all parts of everyday life. And Flynn says for many it’s a lifeline. For example, LGBTQ+ folks living in areas where their identities aren’t accepted often struggle finding community and maintaining their mental health.
“But through an internet connection, something that simple, they could receive remote mental health care, they could find community, they could find people with similar identities to them. And it really made all the difference in their ability to thrive, and their ability to grow, and eventually form their own community that does accept them,” explained Flynn.
So far, the state’s efforts have reached 3,100 homes using its ARPA funds. The BEAD will pick up where the ARPA funding leaves off, continuing broadband expansion between 2024 and 2028.
More information on Delaware’s broadband effort, including details on the state’s equity programming, can be found on broadband.delaware.gov.
