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U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, at Tuesday's announcement on the New Haven Green.
Ten thousand Connecticut families and businesses currently unable to connect to the internet should be browsing at high speeds by 2023 — if a $40 million investment in expanding broadband across the state pans out as politicians are promising.
A slate of state and federal officials — such as Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy — described that plan Tuesday at a press conference on the New Haven Green.
The press conference followed the announcement that Connecticut and four other states — including Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska and North Dakota — were selected to receive more than $400 million in total through the American Rescue Plan to boost internet access.
Connecticut was approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to expend $40.8 million of that federal grant money on infrastructure necessary to get state-determined “underserved” communities access to upload and download speeds of at least 100 megabytes per second.
“This moment is really a breakthrough,” Blumenthal stated. “The federal government is putting major money where its mouth is.”
During the pandemic “too many kids were studying in McDonalds or Starbucks trying to get connectivity there,” he said, asserting that 23 percent of Connecticut residents are without internet service in their homes.
Katie Dykes, the commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), said that the state has established its first “broadband office.” It will work over the next year to determine who should be in line to get internet first.
A request for proposals will be issued by 2023 to select who will lead the internet build-out efforts. Municipalities, nonprofits, and private entities may all apply to head construction projects — and all projects must be completed by 2026.
Lamont said that communities of color, senior populations and rural neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted by high internet prices. He pointed out that each service provider funded by Connecticut’s grant program will be required to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides low-income households with $30 per month off their internet bills.
“Broadband internet is not about gaming, it’s not about social media. It really is key to being able to live in the 21 century,” Lamont said.
Nora Grace-Flood’s reporting is supported in part by a grant from Report for America.
Gov. Lamont and DEEP Chair Dykes at the announcement.