Vermont’s congressional delegation is seeking information from the federal government on the $116 million broadband project that VTel Wireless started in 2010.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., have signed a letter asking whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service has been holding VTel accountable.
The letter, sent April 6, says VTel currently has 1,000 subscribers on the Wireless Open World, or WOW, project that was funded with a portion of an $81.7 million grant and a $35.2 million loan in 2010.
The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2013. The Rural Utilities Service agreed to extend funding through September 2015.
Michel Guite, the president of VTel Wireless, declined to comment for this story, calling VTDigger an unfair news organization. He said Friday the project is largely complete.
But the delegation says in the letter that it wants regulators to find out when the system will be turned on to provide service to customers, whether there are truly 1,000 customers already hooked up, and whether VTel will finish building the three towers that have not yet been built.
“Most importantly, what actions are (the Rural Utilities Service) taking to ensure the grantee completes the project, and what corrective steps are (the Rural Utilities Service) prepared to take if the grantee fails to deliver on its obligations to the federal government and the taxpayers?” the letter asks.
The letter quotes VTel’s application for the federal award back in 2010: “It has always been our understanding that VTel committed to provide wireless broadband access to ‘virtually 100 percent of Vermont’s unserved population.’”
“While we understand some small areas may not receive service because of geographic or engineering limitations, we have long been concerned about statements made by the grantee to step back from the commitment,” the letter says.
David Weinstein, an adviser to Sanders, said his office has been monitoring the VTel project since Day 1 because “if a private company gets $116 million, there should be adequate oversight to make sure that they provide the service that they promised to provide.”
“We have no reason to believe that the grantee isn’t going to complete this program as promised,” Weinstein said. “We’re just doing everything we can to hold their feet to the fire and make sure that they do.”
David Carle, an adviser to Leahy, said the delegation sent the letter in early April because frustration was “reaching new levels.” Carle said a copy of the letter has been sent to VTel and that the delegation has not received a response from the Rural Utilities Service.
He said building out broadband in Vermont requires public-private partnerships, “and the delegation expects the private sector to make good on the promises” it made to Vermont and the Rural Utilities Service. “The delegation has consistently urged any steps possible to ensure that the project comes as close to meeting what they described they would do in their application.”
Kirsten Hartman, an adviser to Welch, said her office is looking forward to a quick response from the Rural Utilities Service “on this important matter.”
