The Delaware Broadband Office is one step closer to meeting Gov. Carney’s goal of providing high-speed internet access to all Delawareans.
The DBO selected Comcast and Verizon to do the job, which will bring high-speed broadband to the remaining sections of New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties without it.
That’s 5,635 homes, with the majority – about 3300 – in Sussex County. If Delaware meets this goal, it will be the first state in the country to be fully connected to high-speed internet.
DBO executive director Roddy Flynn says this is a necessity in today’s economy.
“The United Nations has even described access to high speed internet as a human right,” Flynn said.
Funding will be delivered after a federal overseer looks over submissions from a month-long public comment period that started Dec. 11. Final approval could take up to three or four months after comments are reviewed.
While Delaware is small and has fewer addresses without internet than other states, it’s difficult and expensive to get internet to rural addresses.
“There was no real business case for a lot of these addresses for private investment to serve them, because… that could be a $50,000 build,” Flynn said. “And so there's no incentive for private industry to do that build when they're going to get a $60 a month subscription off of it.”
In the previous rounds of public comment, Flynn said many were approving of their project.
“This is something that could essentially require government action and require investment of this government money because otherwise, these folks would never have access to the internet.”