Governor Carney Announces Next Steps to Expand Access to High-Speed Broadband

5,600 homes and businesses to receive internet access from federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

WILMINGTON, DE - Governor Carney and the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) Delaware Broadband Office (DBO) proposed $17.4M in competitive grant funding awards to two internet service providers to extend broadband service to more than 5,600 unserved and underserved homes and businesses throughout Delaware.

Through an open and competitive process following two years of federal planning and approvals, DBO received a total of 21 proposals from five internet service providers to provide service to eight grant areas across the state.

Comcast and Verizon have been selected to deploy high-speed internet infrastructure to these areas, which represent the final homes in Delaware without access to the internet or without another government program funding deployment of service. These awards will provide the final 5,635 addresses without access with high-speed internet access across New Castle (556), Kent (1,712) and Sussex (3,367) Counties.

With this investment, Delaware is on course to reach Governor Carney’s goal to become the first state in the country to be fully connected to high-speed internet under BEAD.

“Bringing high-speed internet to all Delawareans has been a priority throughout our administration,” said Governor John Carney. “Thanks to this infusion of federal funding made available through the Biden Administration, Delaware will be able to connect more than 5,600 new addresses and remains on track to be the first state to connect every home and business.”

Funds for the announced expansion grants are part of the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, championed by U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.

“In order to fully participate in the digital economy, everyone needs access to high-speed internet,” said Chief Information Officer Greg Lane. “This BEAD funding will help us to continue the work already begun through the American Rescue Plan Act to bridge the digital divide and ensure that Delawareans have access to affordable and reliable service.”

 Applications were scored based on four factors: cost, speed to deployment, workforce readiness/development, and affordability. Complete scoring materials and Delaware’s BEAD Initial Proposal Volumes 1 and 2 can be viewed at https://broadband.delaware.gov/pages/index.shtml?dc=bead.  The two awards are provisional pending a public comment period that begins today, December 11, 2024, and final approval by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA).

“I want to thank every Internet Service Provider who applied to help bring universal internet service to Delaware,” said Delaware Broadband Office Executive Director Roddy Flynn. “This was a very competitive process, which shows the strong telecommunications ecosystem we have in Delaware. The awards to Verizon and Comcast represent the strongest investment of taxpayer money, and we are confident these projects will be completed on time, on budget, and using a highly skilled and qualified workforce.”

In June 2023, Delaware was awarded $107 million from BEAD to build internet infrastructure and close the digital divide. These $17.4 million in awards will be sufficient to build wireline, fiber internet to all homes and businesses in Delaware that are eligible under the federal BEAD program to be served, meaning they do not currently have at least 100/20 MBPS internet access and are not part of another federal-funded internet expansion program.

“Comcast is excited to deepen its investment in Delaware and expand our state-of-the-art network to more previously unserved residents and businesses, bringing Xfinity and Comcast Business products and services to the area,” said Ray Roundtree, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Beltway Region, which serves Delaware. “We are a long-term partner to the State and proud to help close the digital divide in rural Delaware and fuel economic growth for decades to come.”

“We applaud Delaware for its leadership in implementing the BEAD program. Verizon is excited to partner with the state to continue building and enhancing our fast, reliable network statewide and help to close the digital divide,” said Katharine Saunders, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Verizon. “We know residents depend on reliable broadband service to work, learn, and stream from home, and we look forward to expanding our network in these areas.”

Following NTIA final approval, DTI will start to allocate the remaining BEAD funding to eligible uses. Such uses may include building internet and cellular network resiliency, increasing cybersecurity protections, expanding digital governance, and engaging in tech workforce development.