A total of $107 million in federal funding will help Delaware get near the goal of connecting every Delaware home and business to high-speed internet.
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) is a federal grant program that aims to get all Americans online by reaching unserved locations with no internet access or slow speeds.
Reaching homes involves running high-speed fiber or deploying other technologies into areas that cable companies have not previously served due to a low density of customers.
Delaware is connecting more than 6,000 homes and businesses over 18 months – with 3,100 already complete – using prior federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Once we reach the 6,000 addresses currently underway, there will still be nearly 15,000 Delaware homes and businesses – mostly in the rural areas of our state – that either have no access to the internet or access below useable levels. Those 15,000 homes and businesses are the ones that will be helped by this $107 million BEAD investment,” said Gov. John Carney. “We are aiming to be the first state in the country with broadband access for every resident, as our President works to connect every home in the country to high-speed internet eventually. I want to thank the federal delegation and the Biden Administration for their advocacy for these funds.”
“Somewhere in Delaware right now there’s a child without access to online educational learning; a mom without a job and no way to research prospects; and a neighbor with no way to check in on their extended family. That should never be anyone’s reality. Like a digital railroad track, broadband internet access is the connector to jobs, opportunities, and support away from home. This recent investment in high-quality broadband is just another way to close the digital divide and ensure every Delawarean is successful and thriving,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long.
Delaware has among the nation’s highest broadband speeds. However, areas outside towns and cities, mainly in central and southern Delaware, are not in that category
More details on Delaware Broadband Plan are available at https://gis.broadband.delaware.gov/, where Delawareans without internet or with lower speed address should make
