Vermont Aims For Universal Broadband, Cellular Coverage

When Tom Evslin describes Vermonters' access to high-speed Internet, he doesn't sugarcoat their lack thereof. Due to the state's rural nature, about 15 percent of its residents currently rely on dial-up or satellite services to go online, as there's no other option, said Evslin, the state's chief technology officer.

Such a telecommunications backdrop has become an obstacle to economic growth and a deterrent to companies eyeing moves to the area, he said. But that backdrop may soon shift to one that attracts such growth, largely due to federal broadband stimulus funds. "Up to this point, lack of broadband and lack of cellular coverage in our rural areas have been a real detriment to economic development, to teaching, to a lot of things, and we wanted to close that gap," Evslin said. "We lag the nation because we're more rural than most states, and rural areas lag the urban areas." And it's financially poised to close that gap, as the Vermont Telephone Co. (VTel) was recently awarded an $81 million broadband stimulus grant and $35 million government-backed loan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The independent telephone company also is contributing $30 million to the project that's been dubbed the Wireless Open World, which will make wireless Internet available to nearly all of Vermont's unserved homes, businesses and anchor institutions.