Vermont connects broadband library network

Representatives from the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority and Sovernet Communications gathered to announce the completion of the project that provides broadband to 43 libraries from Pownal and Vernon to Montpelier and Plainfield.

The project was funded as part of a $33.4 million federal grant awarded to the Vermont Telecommunications Authority and Sovernet Communications in 2010. Other funds included a $12.5-million investment from Sovernet Communications, $2.3 million in state appropriations and $550,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Richard Kendall, president and chief executive officer of Sovernet Communications, said connecting the libraries -- some of which are in larger communities such as Rutland and St. Johnsbury and others in very small towns like Cabot and Rupert -- is part of a four-year project that saw the company construct more than 900 miles of fiber-optic cable.