Delaware spends $56 million on broadband-for-all effort
Delaware Gov. John Carney and Chief Information Officer Jason Clarke on Thursday announced a $56 million investment that represents the first phase of a project to deliver high-speed internet to every home and business in the state.
Officials said the funding is being made available through broadband infrastructure grants awarded to Comcast, Verizon and Mediacom, which will expand their coverage areas to reach an additional 11,600 homes and businesses.
Comcast is receiving $33.1 million, with the remainder nearly split between the other two internet service providers. The grants cover 75% of construction costs, met by 25% matches from the companies.
This leg of the project, which is part a $110 million broadband commitment Carney announced last August, is funded through the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Now, with the availability of federal funds, we are on our way to giving Delawareans across the state access to connect to school, work, health care, and more,” Carney said in a press release. “Thank you to the Department of Technology and Information working toward our goal of being the first state to connect every residence and business to broadband internet.”
This phase of building is expected to unfold over the next three years, providing users minimum connection speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 Mbps upload.
