The state will use a $5 million grant to boost cell phone service in southern Vermont, the latest round in a continuing effort to connect Vermont digitally via broadband Internet and cell service.
At his last press conference of the year, Gov. Peter Shumlin wandered through the dense language of Internet connectivity, cell towers and megabits per second, saying the state’s “stubborn commitment” to get everyone broadband by the end of 2013 is going well and will give Vermont a “cutting edge” system that is the envy of other states.
As for cell service, Shumlin said an “unprecedented” $5.07 million competitive grant was awarded by the Vermont Telecommunications Authority to VTel Wireless of Springfield to expand service in Bennington, Rutland, Windham and Windsor Counties.
The grant will piggyback on broadband Internet projects already under way by VTel in 21 underserved areas. The funds will enable VTel to use its state-of-the-art Internet infrastructure to use 27 towers or other structures and 55 additional sites to boost cellular service. VTel received $116 million in federal stimulus funds in 2010 for a two-year buildout in rural areas.
Shumlin said the $5 million grant would “vastly expand” cell service in 19 areas in southern Vermont, erasing what he called “hugely dark” areas in the region. The funds will boost cell service to towns such as Andover, Weston, Pownal, Marlboro, Wilmington, routes 100 and 100A in Plymouth, Wardsboro, Mount Holly, Pawlet and Middletown Springs, he said.
On broadband, Shumlin said he had “good news” as the year draws to a close. The governor has promised to connect every corner of Vermont with high-speed broadband by the end of 2013 and said, barring unforeseen circumstances, the state would reach that goal.
“When I took office we were behind Bosnia, Croatia, Vietnam and the 49 other states,” the governor said. Today Vermont has gone from 87 percent connected to 95.6 percent and its system will be “fourth best in America” for Internet connection speeds.
“We’re building a fast system for the future,” he said, several times tying his comments to Vermont’s jobs situation, saying that “speed matters when you’re talking about job creation” for Vermonters.
Karen Marshall, head of the Connect Vermont project for the administration, said the effort to enhance digital life in a rural state like Vermont is complex and difficult. Improving dead spots in cell phone service involves “trying to fill gaps on many layers” with many providers, each of whom have their own dark areas where there is no service. She described the continuity of service problem as “vexing” and compared it to filling holes in Swiss cheese. Still, significant progress is under way, she said.
According to Marshall, telecom providers have spent $80 million in Vermont in the last two years, upgrading from 3G to 4G (4th generation) technology, which allows faster speeds and data flow. That includes 40 new cell sites and many permit applications to add more, which should lead to better coverage.
“There are a lot going forward right now,” she said.
“One of the most difficult telecommunication problems we face today in Vermont is the lack of consistent cell coverage around the state,” said Chris Campbell, executive director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority. The $5 million grant to VTel is “the most significant project to date funded to address this issue,” he said.
Both Shumlin and Marshall stressed that better cell phone coverage was a goal for the administration but universal coverage is not in the cards for now.
However for broadband, Marshall said “the cavalry’s on the way.”
The state has essentially made 25,723 new connections since the end of 2010 when Shumlin won election, she said, and now just 4.2 percent of the state is without high speed Internet access, or roughly 12,494 locations. Plans are under way to service virtually all those areas in 145 towns, she said, though it won’t be easy.
“The last 5 percent are the most far flung, probably the most expensive and sometimes also the most physically challenging to get to,” she said. The state is planning to set up a way for those who are last in line to tell officials via a web link they are still without high-speed broadband, she said.
Marshall and Shumlin both touted the fact that Vermont is not only getting connected but building a network for future growth and business with some of the fastest speeds in the nation. Citing a survey by the firm Akamai Technologies, she said Vermont’s average speed of connection has gone from 5.5 megabits per second to 9.7 Mbps, which puts the state fifth in the world.
“We are achieving what most states in the country can’t even begin to envision,” she said. Some 200 VTel customers now have access to 1000 megabits per second broadband, she noted.
Global use of bandwidth, however, is ever-increasing. Mobile data traffic doubled in one year’s time.
“We have to keep up with this rabbit that keeps running in front of us. The plain fact is, you give people more bandwidth, they’re going to use it,” she said.
