Vermont draft BEAD Five Year Action Plan: FTTP to all on grid addresses by year end 2028.

The state of Vermont expects fiber to the premises (FTTP) advanced telecommunications infrastructure will reach every location connected to the electrical grid by the end of 2028. That’s according to a draft Five Year Action Plan setting a timeline and budget to achieve universal service in the state as required by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

“Vermont shares NTIA’s strong preference for deploying end-to-end fiber connectivity to all unserved and underserved locations, as well as all eligible CAIs. Aligned with the VCBB’s statutory mandate, this approach prioritizes quality, scalability, and reliability,” the draft plan states.

The draft plan anticipates all remote off grid locations will be reached by other technologies deemed “reliable” by the NTIA: hybrid fiber-coaxial cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) technology and terrestrial fixed wireless utilizing entirely licensed spectrum or using a hybrid of licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

The draft plan estimates the cost of extending fiber to all of Vermont’s approximately 50,000 locations not served by fiber excluding locations where the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has allocated grants to subsidize infrastructure under its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) at $500-$700 million. The plan anticipates subsidies under BEAD, the American Rescue Plan Act’s Capital Projects Fund, subgrantee matches, and other funding sources will cover this cost.

The estimate is based on road miles. The upper estimate accounts for the risk of project cost overruns due to inflation, supply chain challenges, and labor shortages. The draft plan notes additional, more extensive analysis will be required to develop a more precise cost estimate. The state intends to refine the estimate in its initial proposal to the NTIA for BEAD infrastructure subsidy funding.

The plan notes the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) will continue its support of efforts by Communications Union Districts (CUDs) organized under state law to submit and gain approval for applications for grants to extend their end-to-end fiber networks. CUDs are two or more towns that join as a municipality to jointly build telecommunications infrastructure.