Northwestern Vermont towns make a deal for broadband

Northwest Fiberworx, the communications union district (CUD) for 22 northwestern Vermont communities serving 30,000 customers, has signed a deal for fiber-optic broadband with South Royalton-based Great Works Internet (GWI) Vermont. The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) will provide funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Northwest Fiberworx is the last of the original CUDs to sign a deal with an internet service provider. Sean Kio, Executive Director of Northwest Fiberworx, says the company already has several hundred miles of fiber-optic cable ready for construction to begin early in 2024.