A Broadband Network for the Valley

The editorial May 10, “Vermont's E-State: Long Time Coming,” was right on target:

ValleyNet agrees and has been investigating the Burlington Telecom approach for some time now as a means to provide fiber optic to the entire Upper Valley. Since 1994, when ValleyNet first introduced local dial-up Internet access to the Upper Valley, part of its nonprofit mission has been to advocate for universal and effective Internet access.

As Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas noted in his inaugural address, “The Vermont Way Forward,” Vermont's economy is increasingly based on information-intensive industries such as education, health care and entreprenial ventures based at home. This trend is particularly true in the Upper Valley.

Yet, many Web pages and new Internet applications, particularly those using video, are effectively available only to broadband users. The scattered availability of broadband today is reminiscent of the early days of electrical and telephone service, before government action ensured universal access to these vital utilities.

Broadband connections per capita -- approximately 20 per 100 inhabitants -- put the United States 25th in the world, behind South Korea and Iceland, among others, according to data provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In this region, both DSL and cable modem service have been late in coming and limited in geographic scope. Wireless is at best a stopgap solution, because of its limited speed and uncertain reliability, and our hilly terrain is a major challenge to line-of-sight wireless technology.

Bringing fiber infrastructure directly to the home provides effectively unlimited capacity and has become practical over the past decade as the cost has fallen and capacity has increased. In fact, Verizon is selling its Vermont and New Hampshire lines largely to finance its plan to build out fiber-to-the-home networks in its urban and suburban markets. However, it is unlikely that private providers will deliver universal broadband access to the Upper Valley, because they can earn higher returns in urban and suburban markets. The region can no longer afford to leave an increasingly vital infrastructure component entirely to the whims of large, remote, financially driven service providers.

Burlington Telecom's privately financed fiber-to-the-home network offers a better way. It will soon cover 100 percent of the city of Burlington, at no cost to taxpayers. Private capital is used to pay for the network, which is then leased to the city for 15 years, at which point the city will own the network. Revenues from the network, not from taxpayers, cover expenses and capital costs.

Even in Burlington, which is well covered by both DSL and cable, more than 30 percent of households are choosing Burlington Telecom fiber and receiving fast Internet connections at up to eight megabits per second, as well as a broad choice of telephone and cable television options. Installation fees are minimal, and monthly costs for a “basic” Internet (1 megabit per second!), telephone and cable package are under $50.

The good news is that the Burlington Telecom concept can work almost anywhere, with sufficient scale. The towns of Westford, Underhill and Jericho voted in March to work with Burlington Telecom to provide a fiber network covering all three towns, and other Vermont towns are actively contemplating such networks. Despite the low number of homes per mile, a rural fiber-to-the-home network does generate sufficient returns to cover its capital and operating costs.

All the pieces are coming into place to build a fiber-to-the-home network throughout the Upper Valley now. Last week, the Vermont Legislature approved the formation of a new Telecommunications Authority, which will have the capacity to facilitate such ventures. At the same time, towns are forming broadband committees at the behest of frustrated citizens. Burlington Telecom is providing the model and the expertise to build and initially operate similar networks. ValleyNet has begun drafting the legal documents and conceptualizing the governance mechanism necessary to build and operate a fiber-to-the-home network in the Upper Valley. And private financing is available on terms similar to those obtained by Burlington.

Burlington Telecom's “hub,” a $5 million central switching and administrative center that operates the fiber network and services the customer base, can serve 100,000 subscribers and employs 30 well-paid professionals. A quick glance at a population density map of Vermont and New Hampshire indicates that there are several competing locations for additional hubs -- and the Upper Valley is one such location, if we can move quickly together.

Over the next several months, ValleyNet will work with local Vermont towns and selectboards to place a warning on next year's Town Meeting ballots to authorize an “interlocal agreement” among a group of Vermont towns to finance and operate a fiber-to-the-home network. To justify a local hub, Upper Valley towns collectively comprising 50,000 people would need to commit to such a project; this number just happens to be the population of the 20 or so towns in southeastern Orange and northeastern Windsor counties.

Although we are starting in Vermont for tactical and regulatory reasons, we envisage that a successful project would quickly spread eastward across the river. ValleyNet will continue to work with interested state and town organizations in New Hampshire to develop a plan for providing this same service east of the Connecticut River.

Citizens and town officials unwilling to be left behind and wishing more information can go to www.valley.net or www.valleyfiber.net.

Stan Williams

The writer is chairman of the board of ValleyNet.

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