64.9% of Vermont residents live in rural areas, the 1st highest share among the 50 states and DC. 76.2% of households have a wired plan (US: 76.6%) and 7.5% use satellite internet, above the US average of 6.9%. Vermont's BEAD plan will connect 15,299 homes and businesses: 83% fiber, 14% satellite.
Best move: the FCC map first, then Vermont's BEAD results.
- Rural residents
- 64.9%417,227 people · 2020 Census
- Homes on satellite
- 7.5%US: 6.9% · ACS 2025
- Homes with no internet
- 6.4%US: 6.0% · ACS 2025
- BEAD allocation
- $229M$228.9 million · NTIA, June 2023
- BEAD locations
- 15,299as of February 2026
Getting the best internet in Vermont: step by step
See every provider at your address
Search it on the FCC National Broadband Map and note any fiber, cable or fixed wireless provider; 76.2% of Vermont homes already have a wired plan. Screenshot guide.
Check whether BEAD funded your location
Open Vermont's BEAD results. VCBB's BEAD data page shows the count of BEAD-funded locations and links to an interactive dashboard of the NTIA-approved BEAD project areas and locations; to see which company won a project, open the Deployment Projects file on the state's VT-BEAD page.
Check co-op and local fiber
Start with ECFiber and NEK Broadband (Communications Union District) and run each one's address check. All 3 local builders we found.
Test the tower signal
10.9% of Vermont households get by on cellular data alone (US: 13.1%). 5G home and fixed wireless checks.
Vermont BEAD program: is fiber coming?
NTIA gave Vermont $228.9 million from the BEAD program in June 2023. NTIA approved the state's final plan on February 9, 2026. The plan puts about $92.8 million into construction. It covers 15,299 locations (data as of February 9, 2026):
- Fiber 12,735 (83%)
- Satellite 2,197 (14%)
- Cable & other 367 (2%)
Fiber dominates here: 83% of funded locations, against 62.9% nationally, so most funded addresses in Vermont are in line for a wired connection.
Changes since approval
- September 14, 2026: Vermont's updated Final Proposal project list (dated 2026-09-14) totals $89,183,176 in BEAD support, down from the $92,845,749 approved. DVFiber (original award $1,994,135) is no longer listed as a subgrantee; SpaceX's award fell from $3,295,500 to $2,155,500; Maple Broadband's fell from $9,269,083 to $8,705,645. Comcast, NEK Broadband and Vermont Telephone amounts are unchanged.
Build schedule: BEAD requires builders to finish within four years of the grant award; Vermont's updated project list estimates every project, including SpaceX's, starting 2025-10-06 and ending by 2029-10-06.
A wired build due within about a year? Skip long contracts until it lands. How BEAD builds work.
Who builds rural fiber in Vermont
Each serves only part of Vermont; its own address tool is the final word.
ECFiber
Community-owned, non-profit fiber internet serving more than 10,000 homes and businesses in 31 east-central Vermont towns.
NEK Broadband (Communications Union District)
Municipal Communications Union District building fiber in every town of the Northeast Kingdom (Caledonia, Essex and Orleans county towns plus Wolcott); it joined forces with CVFiber in August 2024.
Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT)
Independent, locally owned telephone company (since 1904) offering fiber to the home in the Mad River Valley and central Champlain Valley; check your address on its fiber availability tool.
Other Vermont broadband programs
- VCBB Broadband Construction Grant Program: Closed state grant program (opened January 2022) that financed fiber builds by Communications Union Districts, small carriers and ISPs partnered with a CUD under each district's universal service plan, requiring at least 100/100 Mbps at all on-grid unserved and underserved locations; awardees are shown on a funding dashboard (vcbb.maps.arcgis.com).
Good to know in Vermont
- If BEAD is built as approved, only about 0.3% of Vermont locations would be left with satellite as their only option. Source
- The Vermont Legislature set aside $30 million in state funds to match federal broadband grants, and the VCBB board added $9 million in ARPA interest for the same purpose. Source
- Much of rural Vermont's fiber is being built by Communications Union Districts, municipal bodies made up of member towns; for example NEK Broadband includes every town in the Northeast Kingdom. VCBB has a map of the towns in each district (experience.arcgis.com). Source
- VCBB says its approved BEAD plan brings broadband plans to more than 99% of Vermonters. Source
Vermont broadband office and map
Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB), Department of Public Service runs BEAD in Vermont (its BEAD page) and publishes the BEAD results lookup. It handles funded locations and build schedules, not prices or sign-ups, and this site has no tie to it. Home missing from the FCC map? Challenge it.
When satellite is the right call in Vermont
7.5% of Vermont households already pay for satellite internet, the 20th highest share of 51 (Census, 2025).BEAD sends 14% of the state's funded locations there, against 21.9% nationally. It's the fallback for a year-round home with no wired line or funded wired build in the BEAD results, no strong tower signal, and open sky. Low-orbit vs HughesNet and Viasat.
- A funded fiber or cable build covers your address (BEAD or a co-op project) and should arrive within about a year: hold off and compare. How to check.
- Trees, a ridge or nearby buildings hide most of your sky and there's nowhere to mount the dish above them.
- The need is seasonal or short: one stay, one trip, one job. Starlink is a monthly subscription meant to stay on.
Vermont next to its neighbors
| State | Rural residents | Homes on satellite | BEAD to satellite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 64.9% | 7.5% | 14% |
| Massachusetts | 8.7% | 3.4% | 35% |
| New Hampshire | 41.7% | 5.3% | 21% |
| New York | 12.6% | 4.9% | 28% |