VTel Wireless wins broadband grant

VTel President Michel Guite addresses press conference

The Vermont Telecommunications Authority announced an award to VTel Wireless in a press conference held Tuesday in Montpelier.

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VTel Wireless Wins Broadband Grant

Thursday, 06 September 2012 07:27

[For Immediate Release] September 4, 2012 Springfield, Vermont – VTel Wireless is the recipient of $1,347,840 to expand broadband services in 19 Vermont communities. The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) announced an award to VTel Wireless in a press conference held in Montpelier, VT on September 4, 2012.  An additional 306 locations in Arlington, Bennington, Braintree, Brattleboro, Chittenden, Corinth, Danville, Dover, Dummerston, Lyndon, Pittsford, Pownal, Putney, Randolph, Shaftsbury, St. Johnsbury, Westminister, Whitingham, and Wilmington will have access to combined broadband speeds of at least 5 Mbps with a minimum upload speed of 1 Mbps. The project is scheduled to be completed prior to December 31, 2013. “VTel Wireless is currently building a leading-edge wireless broadband network across many communities in Vermont.  This award will provide VTel the means to cover many more unserved pockets of homes and businesses from southern to northeastern Vermont,” said Christopher Campbell, Executive Director of the VTA. “General evidence around America is that 4G/LTE wireless broadband technology is offering speeds superior to prior expectations. Vermonters should be very pleased with the service that VTel will deliver” said Michel Guite, President of Vermont Telephone Company.  “Our concerns were unserved homes in Vermont. However, with the help of Governor Shumlin and the VTA, we are making tremendous progress in reaching even more homes never before served.” The VTA made the award through the broadband grant round it announced on March 13, 2012.  This grant program provides incentives to broadband providers to reach the most rural locations. Funding for the grant program was made possible by an appropriation of the Legislature in the FY2012-2013 Capital Budget requested by Governor Peter Shumlin as part of the Connect VT initiative. In August 2010, VTel Wireless was awarded federal stimulus grants and loans through the Rural Utilities Service to build a wireless broadband network that will provide fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband service to wide areas of Vermont. VTel Wireless has selected Ericsson to be the technology provider for the WOW mobile broadband network. Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers.  Ericsson is the undisputed leader in development and standardization of LTE and offers end-to-end networks with superior performance in stability, throughput, and latency – the most important key factors for end-users of LTE. ### For more information, contact: Sharon Combes-Farr Vermont Telephone Co. Inc 354 River Street Springfield, VT 05156 (802)885-7744 scf@vermontel.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.vermontel.com About VTel VTel is a family-owned telephone company that began serving rural Vermont in 1890. It operates a four-state optical fiber network from Vermont with connections to New York City, Boston, and Montreal, with speeds of 10 Gig to 100 Gig, serving some of the most intensive data users in the northeast. In 2010, VTel received American Reinvestment and Recovery Act awards of $129 million, in grants and loans, to help build America’s first GigE-to-Every-Home network, to extend 4G/LTE wireless broadband to every un-served Vermonter, and to extend our fiber to community anchors throughout Vermont. VTel actively supports Vermont community groups, creates Vermont jobs, drives hybrid vehicles, uses solar and hydro and wind power, and is committed to improving quality of life for Vermont. For more information, visit www.vermontel.com