VTel looks to upgrade Web with fed money

The local phone company has applied for $56 million in federal money to bring its customers high-speed Internet access and to bring others into the 21st century. Vermont Telephone Co.

 http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090902/NEWS02/909020361                   VTel looks to upgrade Web with fed money         By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER Rutland Herald - Published: September 2, 2009         SPRINGFIELD — A local phone company has applied for $56 million in federal money to bring its customers high-speed Internet access and to bring others into the 21st century.         Vermont Telephone Co. application is one of about 2,200 submitted to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, which will use $7.2 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand broadband access in rural areas.         For VTel, this would mean installing optical fiber to every VTel home, allowing connection speeds of up to 1 billion bits per second, said John Choi, director of services and regulatory affairs for VTel.         "This would make us the most advanced in the western world," Choi said.         VTel is also looking to expand wireless service by installing optical fiber to 17 wireless transmission towers in southern Vermont. VTel owns the license to the 700 MHz spectrum and the signal would be able to reach people living in far-flung areas with no other high-speed access.         "That spectrum is going to work really well. It gets through the trees and the clutter and really works well for Vermont's topography," Choi said. "It would certainly be a good alternative for people who are underserved or unserved whose only choice is dial-up."         The proposal, which includes letters of endorsement from Vermont's Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery, the Department of Education and Office of Vermont Health Access, calls for the construction of eight new wireless transmission towers and VTel is working with the Vermont Telecommunication Authority to see where there is overlap, said VTel's Vice President of Technology Justin Robinson.         VTel expects notification in mid-September and to receive grant awards sometime in November or December, with substantial completion within three years, Choi said. VTel expects the project would create 400 full-time jobs and Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Commission, said it would be a boon to the area.         "This proposal to increase Internet access to commercial businesses will certainly help me in bringing new business to the area," Flint said. "It's an exciting proposal and we salute VTel's efforts."