Connecting Vermont: Broadband rollout making progress

Private and public partnerships are helping 214 Vermont towns get hooked up to broadband through a communications union district (CUD). Per Vermont statute, CUDs can’t be funded by general obligation bonds. There are 10 CUDs in the state and more than $124 million has been deployed in state and federal funding. The Vermont Community Broadband Board is looking for more funding options now, but officials are confident everyone will be hooked up in the next five to seven years. It’s one of six CUDs currently in the construction phase, meaning crews are actively on the ground rolling out fiber optic cables. They’re starting in Calais (VT) where 60% of residents still use DSL, including the town office. Connecting 400 miles in CVFiber’s territory cost $60 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds and they plan to seek remaining funds from the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank. Part of the cost is also being paid for by 13 of the 20 CVFiber member towns contributing ARPA funding their specific municipality was granted—money that goes to construction in their town lines.