Consolidated Communications plans to invest $155,000 to improve internet and phone service in two rural towns this year, triggered by a state investigation into how the company dealt with customer complaints.
In documents filed Friday, the telecommunications company proposed projects in Burke and Wilmington to satisfy a January order from the state Public Utility Commission.
The commission ordered Consolidated to either pay a $120,000 penalty or invest $150,000 in rural communities, after determining that Consolidated’s percentage of repairs within 24 hours of a customer report fell below state requirements for two quarters in 2017 and 2018.
Consolidated chose Burke and Wilmington because they have had “a higher number of reported troubles in the past,” company representative Jeffrey Austin wrote in the document sent to the state Department of Public Service.
Both projects should be completed by the end of the year. About 150 addresses will benefit from the upgrades, company spokesperson Shannon Sullivan said Monday.
“Consolidated remains committed to serving Vermonters now and in the future, and we look forward to the completion of these projects, which will result in service improvements and higher internet speeds for our customers,” Sullivan said.
The proposal is “a reasonable use of the penalty dollars,” said Clay Purvis, heads of Public Service’s telecoms division.
“It’s not going to mean an across-the-board fix for service quality in Vermont,” Purvis said Monday. “It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what needs to be done.”
But for consumers in the two towns, the projects could be “very beneficial,” he said.
The first project involves replacing an existing copper crossbox with a new pole-mounted cabinet and crossbox in West Burke, a village in the town of Burke. Crossboxes act as outside access points, housing wired connections.
The upgraded equipment will support voice and internet services, according to the Consolidated proposal, and will result in removal of about 2.5 miles of copper from the area’s telecoms system.
That, the company said, will improve customers’ voice quality in parts of West Burke.
Burke Town Administrator Mike Harris said Monday he hadn’t heard about the plan, “but the upgrade would certainly be welcome. Any infrastructure improvement would be greatly appreciated.”
Harris said the state’s offer to improve infrastructure, rather than pay a fine, was a good deal. “It helps a lot of people anytime you can make those improvements,” he said.
He hasn’t heard many complaints about Consolidated’s service in the area — he lives in the village — but he thinks equipment maintenance in town had been neglected over the years.
“All I know is, if they’re changing out and upgrading their lines, that’s a good thing,” Harris said.
In Wilmington, Consolidated proposed laying 13,000 feet of fiber from its central switching station in town to Stowe Hill Road. That station is near Buzzy Park, according to an online telecommunications database, and downtown Wilmington sits between it and Stowe Hill Road.
The installation, which would include other upgraded equipment, will provide most locations with download and upload speeds of 10 megabits per second.
“Currently, there is no internet service in this area of Wilmington,” Austin, the Consolidated rep, wrote in the proposal.
The project will also “effectively remove” about 2.5 miles of copper lines, which will improve voice quality, according to Consolidated.
Like his counterpart in Burke, Wilmington Town Manager Scott Tucker hadn’t heard of the plan but welcomed the idea.
“It’s good news because … when people are trying to move here from downcountry, they’re looking for good access,” he said.
Sullivan, the company spokesperson, said the new technology will allow some customers to receive internet download speeds 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 40 megabits per second. Most addresses will qualify for speeds of at least 10 megabits download, 1 megabit upload, she said.
She said speeds will depend on how far customers’ homes are from the new equipment.
Asked how the $155,000 investment will be split between the two projects, Sullivan said the company couldn’t share specific details.
The Department of Public Service has four weeks to comment on the proposal.
The state investigation into Consolidated began in September 2018. The Department of Public Service petitioned the commission to investigate after receiving 143 complaints about delayed outage responses between July and September that year.
That marked a 2,760% increase compared to the same period in 2017, the department said.
The state requires telecoms companies to clear 70% of service problems within 24 hours of a customer report. Dipping below 60% triggers state action.
At the end of 2017, Consolidated’s average annual clearance rate for outages was 35%. At the end of 2018, the figure had dropped to 26%.
Department officials had asked the commission to require Consolidated to provide customers in high-cost service areas with automatic $5 credits on their bills for each day problems remain uncleared after 24 hours. However, the commission decided it didn’t have the authority to do that. Its January order settled the case, apart from required updates on the new proposal in 2021.
Through the first two quarters of 2020, Consolidated’s annual average clearance rate for outages went up to 59%.
Purvis, with the Public Service department, said the next numbers will come out in October.
