Vermont Provider Launches Discounted Gigabit Program
Low-cost 1 Gig fiber service will be available to nonprofits in Addison County.
Georgina Mackie
May 8, 2026 – A Vermont community broadband provider launched a discounted high-speed internet program Thursday for nonprofits, offering gigabit fiber service at the company’s lowest available price in Addison County.
The new “Nonprofit Connect” program from Maple Broadband gives qualifying groups access to 1 Gigabit per second fiber broadband for $69.95 per month, a $50 monthly discount from the standard rate.
More than 700 registered nonprofits operate within Maple Broadband’s Addison County service area, including food shelves, housing organizations, youth programs, and environmental groups.
“Ensuring that nonprofits can afford this service will allow them to serve even more people,” said Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board. “Opening opportunities for additional folks to benefit from these nonprofits’ hard work and the positive social impact broadband can bring.”
The service includes no contracts, no data caps, free equipment, and no promotional pricing increases, according to the provider.
“Nonprofits work hard to stretch every dollar for this community,” said Ellie de Villiers, executive director of Maple Broadband. “As a community-owned internet provider, there is strong mission alignment between the work we are doing to provide and promote universal affordable broadband and the work of nonprofits also serving Addison County.”
The launch builds on Maple Broadband’s broader fiber expansion across Addison County. The community-owned provider completed the first phase of its network deployment in 2024, laying more than 143 miles of fiber and passing more than 1,600 homes and businesses in rural Vermont communities.
Maple Broadband operates under Vermont’s Communications Union District model, a state-authorized structure that allows multiple municipalities to formally join together to build and own broadband infrastructure as a single public entity.
Instead of each town trying to fund or manage internet deployment on its own, participating towns pool resources and authority within a CUD, which can then plan, finance, and construct fiber networks across the region.
Vermont created this model to address the persistent lack of private-sector investment in rural broadband.
Maple Broadband also operates residential affordability initiatives, including its Local Equitable Access Fund, which provides eligible households with a $30 monthly discount and free installation, and its Affordable Drop Program, which helps cover installation costs for difficult-to-reach properties.
