5 municipalities in Chittenden County form new communications union district

By Daily Market News On Nov 20, 2022 19 0

Essex, Essex Junction, Shelburne, South Burlington and Williston are banding together to form a new communications union district.

Such districts are the foundation of Vermont’s plan to cover nearly every address with high-speed fiber-optic internet connections. The districts allow cities and towns to join forces when negotiating contracts with providers.

For these five cities and towns, the challenges of getting connected are distinct from those in rural parts of Vermont, where many places have no broadband connection at all. In Chittenden County, most homes have some kind of broadband, just not fiber-optic connections, which provide the fastest internet.

Formation of a communications union district requires the approval of voters in a city or town. On Nov. 8, 89% of voters in the five municipalities, which are not served by Burlington Telecom or Waitsfield Valley Telecom, voted in favor of the district.

With the addition of the five Chittenden County communities, 213 of Vermont’s 252 cities, towns and gores are now part of a communications union district.

“Chittenden County is a bit unique,” said Robert Fish, deputy director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, the organization in charge of getting the state covered with fiber-optic cable. ”Most of the underserved addresses are at the end of roads.”

Fish said many addresses in the five cities and towns are already served by some kind of broadband, but many do not have access to the high-speed fiber-optic broadband the state is aiming for.

“These towns are seeing the rest of the state getting their act together and moving towards having a plan towards having fiber connections,” Fish said.

Fish said the next steps are for each town to choose a representative and an alternate to the communications union district, and to study various options for covering everyone in the five communities with fiber. Neighboring towns have expressed an interest in joining the district, Fish said.

The Center on Rural Innovation, founded by…

5 municipalities in Chittenden County form new communications union district

Get more stuff like this in your inbox

Get more stuff like this
in your inbox