Twenty-two towns in rural Vermont plan to pool resources to launch a fiber-optic project that could be live by the end of 2009. The idea is to bring together a large enough collective to attractive the necessary funding.The East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network announced the plan this week and asked for the support of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority in providing the necessary credit and helping the project surmount regulatory hurdles.
As in most rural areas, the towns have not been able to attract commercial broadband providers. Steve Willbanks, a selectman in Strafford, one of the cities involved, said fiber optic connections were necessary “for our economical and cultural development…There are people out there who would kill — almost — to have reliable broadband service.” More than 1000 Strafford have already registered for the service in his area alone.
Tim Nulty, a consultant to the group, told the Burlington Free Press quotes that the $70 million network would need about 6,000 paying customers to achieve “critical mass” and that it could support an “overlay” of wireless connections to provide.
This report comes at an interesting time. Just this week, the Institute of Local Self Reliance issued a report, Municipal Broadband: Demystifying Wireless and Fiber-Optic Options, in which it discussed the merits of just such networks.
Click here to read the story in the Burlington Free Press.
Click here to read about the new report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance which discusses the merits of muni networks that combine fiber and wireless to provide broadband access.
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