There are still places in Vermont that don't have access to broadband Internet, and the Rutland County town of Chittenden is one of them. But that will soon change for parts of Chittenden, according to the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
VTA has awarded $89,303 to the cable service provider Comcast, in order to expand broadband services in Chittenden. VTA says Comcast will also make a capital investment in order to complete the project. A VTA press release says the service will be about 20 times faster than its baseline standard for broadband:
New service will be available along all or portions of the following roads: Curtis, Dam and Wildcat. As a result, residents in this area will have access to broadband speeds of up to 105 Mbps downstream through Comcast’s Xfinity Internet service, exceeding the minimum VTA requirement of combined 5Mbps upload and download speed.
The VTA grant was made possible by an appropriation of the Legislature in the 2012-2013 capital budget requested by Gov. Peter Shumlin as part of the Connect VT initiative. Shumlin commented:
“Extending broadband service to this part of Rutland County is another positive step toward my goal of ensuring that every corner of Vermont will have access to high-speed Internet. Partnering with providers like Comcast will help us reach this important objective. Residents, businesses and visitors to Vermont rely on broadband, and I am delighted with the progress we have made."
The list of locations eligible for the grant program was compiled using data collected from providers through Vermont’s Broadband Mapping Initiative.
