Lack of broadband services hitting Orange County hard, lawmaker says

Representative Samantha Lefebvre

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, many Vermonters in rural communities still don't have broadband access. Workers and students face difficulties connecting to others as remote work stays prevalent. 

Representative Samantha Lefebvre (R-Orange), lists broadband availability along with infrastructure, housing, small business funding and school choice as top concerns among her constituents. 

“Some of my towns need help with infrastructure where some more than where some of my other towns need help with connecting to broadband. Some of my other towns, you know, need help with their businesses and employment and housing,” she said.

Lefebvre said she believes that a lack of reliable internet access is detrimental in promoting small business growth.

“It's really shining a light that we do not have enough broadband. We do not have enough resources available especially in our rural communities like Orange County to be able to sustain small businesses,” she said.

Those who have to work remotely due to the pandemic have a tough time doing so in Orange County. One woman in Orange could not find internet access for her remote job after her house burned down, Lefebvre said. 

“She now has to relocate,” Lefebvre said. “She doesn't have a home and she has to find out where she can work because she needs the internet. So people are offering left and right for her to be able to stay at their house, but they don't have the internet.” 

Many students have also had difficulty connecting to remote classes as their homes lack broadband, she said. Some students have stopped showing up to school due to a lack of reliable internet access. 

 “I truly feel that kids have dropped off of school rosters, you know, it's literally like they don't know the kids or they went remote and the kids you know, the children don't have access to internet reliable internet and data to go to school,” she said.