Verizon won two of three awards by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation to bring all-fiber broadband to unserved or underserved locations in the state. The total awarded is $12,943,932.
The awards were the first of two rounds that will total almost $25 million. The funding is through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Award winners pledge to build networks delivering symmetrical 100 Mbps service.
Verizon won broadband funding for the Rhode Island communities of Jamestown ($2,071,245) and Westerly ($1,564,635). GoNetspeed was the other winner, with an award of $1,564,635, to deploy infrastructure in Newport.
The three project areas were selected based on a formula that included prioritization of households without connectivity and areas with lower median incomes, according to the announcement.
The two rounds of broadband awards are an element of Rhode Island Commerce Corp.’s ConnectRI program that aims to connect unserved locations and those that don’t have access to 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload (underserved) locations.
Beyond the second round of CPF funded awards, Rhode Island will use funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The state was allocated $108.7 million in the program.
The initial CPF funding was announced in July 2023. At that point, the amount was said to be $112 million. The bulk of the funding — $81.7 million — is for multi-purpose community facilities. The other $25 million is for broadband infrastructure aimed at connecting 7,500 homes and businesses.
The CPF got started in Rhode Island’s neighbor to the north a year ago. Last October, The Massachusetts Broadband Institute at Mass Tech (MBI) launched the Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Grants Program, which is funded for $145 million by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The program is administered by the MassTech Collaborative, MBI’s parent.
Additional information about Rhode Island broadband, including state funding resources, awards made, and state-specific coverage, can be found at Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
