The state will expand a high-speed broadband network that could serve hundreds of customers in the Northeast Kingdom.The Vermont Telecommunications Authority completed the fiber network in 2015.
The Department of Public Service now manages the system, but the state has not had a company that was interested in hooking on to the network.
Vermont’s Telecommunications Director, Clay Purvis, said the Public Service Department recently signed a deal with Kingdom Fiber to connect homes and businesses in the region.
“It has the potential to be a very positive development for the Northeast Kingdom,” Purvis said. “It allows the users of the fiber to run down side streets and run up dirt roads.”
The state will spend about $400,000 to install fiber splice enclosures which will allow Kingdom Fiber to connect to the state-owned network.
The state’s network runs from Hardwick to Newport, and from Brighton to Norton.
"It has the potential to be a very positive development for the Northeast Kingdom. It allows the users of the fiber to run down side streets and run up dirt roads." - Clay Purvis, Telecommunications Director
The state issued a request for proposals to install the fiber splice enclosures. Purvis says he hopes the infrastructure will be completed before the end of this winter.
“This is the best kind of broadband that you can get,” said Purvis. “There’s a huge network potential in the Northeast Kingdom. These fiber enclosures are just a small piece of it but they allow the users of the fiber to expand their network off of the fiber.”
During the last Legislative session lawmakers approved the project and authorized the funding which was taken from the almost $1.3 million that was left over from the capital appropriations made to the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
