MONTPELIER (AP) - Gov. Peter Shumlin says more money is going to help Vermont meet the goal of ensuring everyone in the state has access to high speed Internet service by the end of next year.

Shumlin and Karen Marshall of the group "Connect Vermont" say $3.1 million in funding commitments by the Vermont Telecommunications Authority will help bring broadband to 2,850 hard-to-serve locations across the state.

The broadband expansion will also be helped by $6.6 million in additional spending by FairPoint Communications, the state's predominant land-line telephone company.

In June of 2011 there were more than 21,200 homes and businesses in the state that couldn't get broadband services. By the end of last year that number was down to about 16,000.

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