(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes released the following statements in response to the announcement made today by President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration that Connecticut is receiving $144 million in federal funding to support its ongoing efforts in deploying affordable, reliable high-speed internet service statewide:
Governor Lamont said, “Today’s announcement by the Biden administration that Connecticut will receive $144 million to expand broadband deployment is welcome news to the residents and businesses of our state. We know that fast, reliable internet connectivity is a necessity in our increasingly digital world. Thanks to President Biden and Connecticut’s amazing Congressional delegation, this funding will help us connect unserved and underserved residents and small businesses in our state, leveling the playing field as we work toward our goal of universal access to one gigabit per second download speeds and 100 megabits per second upload speeds that are becoming the standard of the industry.”
Commissioner Dykes said, “Internet connectivity has become a requirement to participation as more elements of daily life migrate to the digital space, and it’s critical that people aren’t being left behind. The funding announced for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program today is a huge step toward ensuring access first and foremost to those unserved, and underserved in our state, and closing our connectivity and opportunity gap. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Office of Telecommunications and Broadband continues to work hard on our Five-Year Action Plan for broadband, due in August. Thank you to the Biden administration, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and our federal delegation for bringing this critically impactful funding to Connecticut.”
States, D.C., and territories receiving funding under today’s announcement will receive their formal notice of allocation on June 30, 2023. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, eligible entities have 180 days from the date of that formal notice to submit their initial proposals describing how they propose to run their grant programs. Once the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved an initial proposal, which will occur on a rolling basis, eligible entities will be permitted to request access to at least 20% of their allocated funds.