A Federal Communications Commission report released last week ranked Vermont 38th in the nation in broadband penetration. New Hampshire was in a three-way tie for the nation’s best cell and internet access with Alaska and Utah.
The International Broadband Data Report is released annually by the Federal Communications Commission in an effort to record and inform U.S. broadband development by comparing American broadband with coverage, speed, and pricing in other countries. This year’s report was released on May 20.
The study measured broadband penetration by percentage of households served. In Vermont 60 percent of residences have access; the national average is 63 percent. New Hampshire, Utah, and Alaska all had 73 percent coverage while Maine, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts had 61 percent, 69 percent and 72 percent, respectively.
Vermont scored a victory within the context of the national initiative to extend broadband to all areas last August when the Vermont Telephone Company was awarded $116 million in federal funding to extend broadband to an estimated 57,000 homes in underserved rural areas of Vermont.
The money is paying for VTel’s effort to install fiber optic cables within the company’s current service area and create a state of the art “Wireless Open World” network, which will serve communities with wireless 4G/LTE broadband, allowing customers to set up a modem or use a USB receiver to connect to the internet.
“We looked at [the state’s current broadband coverage] and really wanted to do something really exciting bringing broadband to people who don’t have it,” said Justin Robinson, president of VTel. Robinson said that the project was not under way just yet, as it is awaiting environmental review.
Along with VTel’s federally-funded project, SoverNet is using a combination of federal, state, and private money to expand broadband coverage. Fairpoint, Cloud Alliance, and Waitsfield Telecom all have broadband expansion projects in progress, says Chris Campbell, executive director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
“The good news is that there are a lot of people who have broadband at this point and, while there are significant gaps, there are substantial projects underway to that are going to bring broadband to a lot more people,” said Campbell.
While the IBDR states that 60 percent of Vermont households have broadband, another FCC report released the same day, the Seventh Broadband Progress Report and Order on Reconsideration states that broadband is available to 93 percent of the state’s population. Roughly 33 percent of the population of Vermont has access to broadband, but does not use it.
The goal, Campbell says, is 100 percent coverage and 100 percent adoption.
“There is a conversation that has begun at the national level about ‘how do we make sure that people can afford to have access to this technology?’” Campbell said.
