Vermont Telecommunications and Connectivity Advisory Board will hold its monthly meeting on May 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  This meeting will be conducted as a Skype webcast and teleconference, in accordance with changes to the Vermont Open Meeting Law made in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the public are encouraged to join the meeting by weblink or telephone:

Weblink:  https://meet.lync.com/vermontgov-vermont/clay.purvis/7ZLPCM4F

Telephone: (802) 552-8456.  The Conference Number is: 156 203 760 (followed by the “#” sign).

The Department of Public Service will present the Draft for Public Comment of its Emergency Broadband Action Plan. The draft plan lays out a strategy and action steps for how to get internet service to the nearly 70,000 business and residential locations, or about 23% of the state, that presently do not have access at speeds at or above 25/3 Mbps (the current federal definition of “broadband”).

The Department developed this plan in preparation for future federal aid to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It also proposes using a reverse auction model to achieve universal broadband in comparatively short order. The plan can be found on the Department of Public Service webpage here: https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/emergency-broadband-action-plan

In addition to the upcoming Telecommunications and Connectivity Advisory Board meeting, the Department welcomes the public to provide written comments by email to psd.telecom@vermont.gov, or by mailing comments to the Department of Public Service, Telecommunications & Connectivity, 112 State St. Montpelier, VT 05620-2601. Comments will be accepted through May 26, 2020.