Mass. Awards $45 Million in Grants to Extend Internet Coverage

Massachusetts awarded $45.4 million in grants to extend high-speed internet coverage through the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Program, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) announced Tuesday. The recipients, including Verizon, Comcast and Charter Communications, will use the grants, along with more than $40 million in matching funds, to deploy high-speed internet lines to approximately 2,000 locations in 41 Massachusetts communities, MBI said. Gov. Maura Healey (D) thanked “federal partners” and the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund, which funded the project. The MBI’s second grant application window opened in May and closed Tuesday (see 2310260040).