The Gap Networks Grant Program funds the deployment of broadband infrastructure in areas that currently lack broadband service. The Program aims to expand access and connectivity in unserved and underserved locations throughout Massachusetts to bridge the digital divide. Specifically, the Program funds the deployment of broadband infrastructure in:
- Homes and businesses that currently lack access to sufficient broadband internet service, defined as service offering download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps. These areas were eligible under Rounds 1 and 2.
- Eligible community anchor institutions (CAIs) that currently lack access to sufficient broadband internet service, defined as service offering speeds of at least 1 Gbps and upload speeds of at least 1 Gbps. Round 3 of the Gap Networks Grant Program will focus solely on CAIs.
While prior investment of public funds have substantially reduced the number of unserved and underserved homes, businesses and CAIs remaining in the state, there are still pockets throughout the state that lack access to reliable and affordable broadband service. On July 9, 2025, MBI launched two broadband infrastructure grant programs. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Benefit of the Bargain solicitation is targeting the remaining unserved and underserved broadband serviceable locations as well as CAIs. The third round of the Gap Networks Grant Program will only fund broadband access for eligible CAIs.
Grant Awards
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced the Round 1 grants, totaling $45.4 million in a press release on July 2, 2024. Round 2 grants, totaling $12.6 million, were announced in a subsequent press release on January 23, 2025.
| Grant Recipient | Communities Covered | Grant Amount |
Comcast | Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Monson, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Palmer, Tisbury, Ware, West Tisbury |
$2,693,365 |
| Greenfield Community Energy and Technology | Greenfield | $758,734 |
| Spectrum Northeast LLC | Florida, Hawley, Monroe, Savoy | $4,904,841 |
Verizon New England Inc. | 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, Yarmouth |
$37,068,263 |
Grant recipients will use funds to deliver projects that must:
- Deliver service that meets or exceeds internet speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 100 Mbps for uploads
- Provide internet access to 100% of all existing unserved and underserved serviceable locations
- Provide a minimum 20% funding match with waivers provided to certain municipalities that have existing debt obligations associated with municipal fiber-to-the-premise projects
- Reach substantial project completion before December 31, 2026
The four awardees selected in the first round will work with MBI to validate the unserved and underserved location count included in each grantee’s proposal. The goal of this review is to connect 100% of the serviceable locations in each community, ensuring alignment with the goal of the federal Internet for All initiative.
| Grant Recipient | Communities Covered | Grant Amount |
Comcast Cable Communications Management | Abington, Andover, Ashby, Ayer, Barnstable, Bedford, Bellingham, Billerica, Blackstone, Bolton, Bourne, Bridgewater, Brockton, Buckland, Carlisle, Carver, Chelmsford, Conway, Danvers, Dracut, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Essex, Franklin, Gardner, Georgetown, Gill, Granby, Groveland, Hatfield, Haverhill, Holliston, Hopedale, Huntington, Ipswich, Kingston, Lancaster, Lowell, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Marlborough, Marshfield, Medway, Merrimac, Methuen, Middlefield, Millis, Montague, Montgomery, Needham, Newbury, Newburyport, Northampton, Northfield, Norton, Norwell, Orleans, Pembroke, Phillipston, Plainville, Plymouth, Plympton, Rehoboth, Rockport, Russell, Salem, Sharon, Shelburne, Shirley, Sudbury, Sunderland, Swansea, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Truro, Walpole, Watertown, Westford, Westhampton, Westminster, Weston, Weymouth, Whately, Williamsburg, Winchendon, Woburn |
$11,317,283 |
| Verizon New England | Eastham, Millville, Templeton | $1,353,959 |
Round 3: Community Anchor Institutions
This round of the Gap Networks Program will fund internet service providers to deploy broadband infrastructure to eligible community anchor institutions (CAIs) that currently lack access to sufficient broadband internet service, defined as service offering speeds of at least 1 Gbps and upload speeds of at least 1 Gbps.
All projects must reach Substantial Completion before Thursday, December 31, 2026. Substantial Completion is reached when the Project can fulfill the primary operations that it was designed to perform and deliver services to end-users. At Substantial Completion, service and management systems infrastructure must be operational.
[Button: View Round 3 Solicitation] [Button: View CAI List]
[Button: Applications Due 7/23]
Eligible entities that are interested in applying to serve CAIs under both the Gap Networks and BEAD Programs should refer to MBI’s CAI webpage for more information and guidance.
Community Anchor Institutions (CAI) are entities that play a significant role in a community's economic, social and civic life. Round 3 is focusing on CAIs (1) that facilitate or otherwise support greater use of broadband service; (2) that do not have access to 1 Gbps symmetrical business class broadband service from the provider responding to this solicitation; and (3) are not included in an award under a prior round of this Program. Applicants should refer to the CAI List published with the Round 3 solicitation. MBI reserves the right to modify the CAI List at any time. The CAI List identifies presumptively eligible CAIs in each town or city within the following categories of eligible CAIs:
- Career Centers
- Community Centers
- Community Health Centers
- Community Media Centers
- Correctional Facilities
- Councils on Aging / Senior Centers
- Courthouses
- Coworking Centers
- Food Banks
- Health Clinics
- Healthcare Facilities (excluding standalone single or multiple physician medical offices)
- Homeless Shelters
- Libraries
- Long-Term Care Facilities
- Places of Worship
- Public Housing (excluding locations receiving support through MBI’s Residential Retrofit Program)
- Schools (Pre-K, K-12, Trade Schools, Vocational Schools and Adult Education)
- Small Business Technical Assistance Centers
- Town Halls or City Halls
- Veterans Centers
An applicant under Round 3 may augment the list of proposed CAIs for which it seeks funding provided that (1) the CAI falls within one of the categories listed above; and (2) the applicant is not, at the time the application is submitted, capable of delivering reliable business class broadband service to the CAI that meets or exceeds 1 Gbps symmetrical service. Please note however that quality of service challenges will not be considered by MBI when reviewing applications. MBI will determine in its sole discretion whether a CAI added to the applicant’s Proposed CAI list satisfies the Round 3 eligibility criteria.