Massachusetts’ Gap Networks Program Awards Verizon $37 million; One Muni Network Gets $750K

State broadband officials in Massachusetts have announced over $45 million in grant awards from the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Program with the lion’s share going to Verizon to “expand high-speed broadband [I]nternet infrastructure to underserved homes, business, and community anchor institutions across the state.”

State broadband officials say the $45.4 million in grant awards will be coupled with $40 million in matching funds from the awardees to expand broadband access to approximately 2,000 locations in 41 Massachusetts communities.

In 2022, as we previously reported here, Massachusetts was allocated a total of $145 million in federal Rescue Plan dollars to fund the Bay State program. With the state’s first round of funding from the Gap Networks Program awarding $45 million to four applicants, about $100 million is left in the pot for future funding rounds. Massachusetts has yet to receive its $147 million share of federal BEAD funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the spending rules for which are much more stringent than the more flexible CPF funding rules.

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“Our administration is committed to closing the digital divide and ensuring every home and business in the state has the [I]nternet connectivity they need to fully participate in a 21st century economy,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a press announcement.

Michael Baldino, Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) which is administering the grant program, added that his office is “committed to rolling out these construction projects quickly and efficiently to ensure that the residents at these 2,000-plus locations get the same level of broadband access that many of us take for granted.”

Gap Networks Grants Target ‘Pockets of Locations’

Courtesy of the US Treasury Capital Projects Fund (CPF), Round 1 of the state’s Gap Networks Program provided Verizon with a haul of $37 million for projects in 26 different towns. The funding will target “pockets of locations” that do not have “access to reliable and affordable broadband service,” state officials say.

Grant recipients are required to “reach substantial project completion” before December 31, 2026; extend service in project areas to deliver symmetrical speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps); ensure 100% access for all unserved and underserved addresses; and invest a minimum of 20% in matching funds (except in communities that have existing debt obligations associated with municipal fiber projects).

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Comcast, Spectrum Northeast LLC (a subsidiary of Charter Spectrum), and Greenfield Community Energy and Technology (GCET) were the three other Internet service providers (ISPs) to be awarded Gap Network grant funds.

The Verizon grant ($37 million) proposes to extend fiber service to unserved and underserved addresses in 26 different towns (Agawam, Amesbury, Amherst, Ashburnham, Attleboro, Barre, Bernardston, Brewster, Chicopee, Dartmouth, Deerfield, Fall River, Falmouth, Gloucester, Harwich, Holyoke, Lunenburg, Mashpee, North Brookfield, Sandwich, Sheffield, Townsend, Springfield, Warren, Wellfleet, and Yarmouth).

One of those towns – Falmouth – has been pursuing a plan to build a town-wide municipal fiber network and is still searching for financing or a public private partnership with an independent ISP to build it, after years of frustration paying among the highest prices in the state for spotty Internet service.

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Last year, Falmouth’s municipal broadband plan was targeted by a dark money campaign that sought to undermine support for the project, which brought to town one of the nation’s most prominent community broadband advocates – Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) – to help counter the attacks.

According to MBI’s broadband availability map the Verizon grant will cover a total of 1,211 locations, which amounts to about $30,000 per passing. A 2023 report published by the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) noted that the average cost per home passed for fiber build-outs nationally ranged from “$700 to $1,500 for respondents in suburban and urban environments, and $1.3K to $2.7K in more rural areas,” though there are “outliers in the reported costs (that) are many times higher than the average.” The grant received by Verizon appears to be one of those outliers in terms of cost per home passed.

Falmouth MLP Board Chairman Ed Swartz tells ILSR he was surprised at how much money Verizon received for such a small number of locations passed.

“We were looking at a public-private partnership with Boundless, which didn’t come to fruition. But, they gave us an estimate for $47 million for 24,000 to 25,000 passings,” Swartz said, adding that Falmouth is still considering other public private partnerships as well as the possibility of a full municipally-owned network.

The Comcast award ($2.6 million) is to extend service on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, two islands just south of Cape Cod; while Spectrum’s $4.9 million award is to extend service in four western Massachusetts towns (Florida, Hawley, Monroe, and Savoy).

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Greenfield Community Energy and Technology, which offers triple play services (Internet, phone and TV) was the only municipal broadband provider to be awarded Round 1 grant funds ($758,734) to expand its service footprint.

GCET’s city-owned network – TrueSpeed – covers about 87 percent of residents and businesses in the city of approximately 17,000 and now serves 2,100 subscribers, according to GCET’s website.

Brian Noyes, Director of Communications and Marketing for the MassTech Collaborative, tells ILSR via email a total of six grant application proposals were received requesting a total of $76.2 million.

Round 2 applications, he said, are currently under review, with awards to be announced in the fall, he said.

The Verizon grants, Noyes added, will be used for a “100% FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) wireline solution. Comcast’s will include both hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) and FTTH technologies (and) Spectrum Northeast, LLC (Charter) will offer FTTH.”

Some Municipal Leaders Express Frustration With Process

Even as state broadband officials laud the program, a number of town officials across the state hoping to secure grant funds to help bring competition to local markets and expand broadband service in their towns with municipal-led projects – expressed frustration with the application process, as well as broader concerns about what many consider to be a playing field titled to favor the big monopoly incumbents.

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The Town of Bourne, for example, sent a letter to MBI in December 2023 asking for the state to clarify its grant application rules as it pertained to the Gap Networks program.

“The GAP grant program's waiver rules, especially those pertaining to outstanding broadband debt, need thoughtful revision, given the realities of municipal financing,” the letter reads. “We note that Bourne does not have the long-term debt required to qualify. Moreover, due to the short deadline for application the Town will be unable to meet the waiver conditions timely, notably the 20% matching grant criterion.”

The letter went on to say:

“Bourne cannot seek financing from Town Meeting until May, the exact situation faced by most Massachusetts municipalities who determine their fiscal operations at Spring Town Meeting. We need MBI’s help to provide Bourne a chance to take advantage of the GAP program with the understanding that MBI has discretion to modify requirements. Therefore, we request that MBI either eliminate the matching requirement or extend the deadline in recognition of these constraints.”

When asked about municipalities ability to apply for Gap Networks funding, Noyes told ILSR: “Per the terms of the official procurement, applicants must contribute a mandatory funding match of at least 20% of the total proposed project costs, however, municipal applicants may apply for a waiver of the match requirement if they have an outstanding debt obligation related to the construction of municipally-owned broadband infrastructure. There is no minimum amount of outstanding debt required. However, the debt must be incurred prior to the date of the application.”

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Beyond the Gap Networks program, some members of the Massachusetts Broadband Coalition (MBC) – an informal group of about two dozen towns and cities across the Commonwealth – have begun raising concerns about whether any municipality will be able to access any of the state grant funding programs, including the forthcoming BEAD funds the state will administer.

As a member of the Internet Advisory Committee in the town of Westport, David Cole said the process to prepare municipalities to comply with the various grant application rules has been taxing, which is something ILSR has heard from local officials trying to navigate state BEAD challenges in many states across the nation.

Meanwhile, the state is pressing on with Round 2 funding awards, which are expected to be announced sometime this fall.

Header image of Blynman Bridge in Gloucester MA courtesy of Flickr user cmh2315fl, ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 2.0 GENERIC

Inline image of MA Gov. Maura Healey courtesy of Charlotte Hysen, ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE 2.0 GENERIC

Inline image of Greenfield MA town hall courtesy of Flickr user cmh2315fl, ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 2.0 GENERIC

Inline image of Bourne town hall courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, ATTRIBUTION-SHAREALIKE 3.0 UNPORTED