Video: Governor: telecommunications upgrades on-track

Friday, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority announced a $5.07-million grant aimed at fixing a problem that has vexed cell phone users in Vermont for years: dropped calls.
http://www.necn.com/12/28/12/Vt-Governor-telecommunications-upgrades-/landing.html

Vt. Governor: telecommunications upgrades on-track December 28, 2012, 6:17 pm SHARE THIS POST0 COMMENTS NECN (NECN: Jack Thurston, Montpelier, Vt.) - Friday, the Vt. Telecommunications Authority announced a $5.07-million grant aimed at fixing a problem that has vexed cell phone users in Vermont for years: dropped calls. In some portions of the state, conversations can abruptly end in the middle of sentences, especially while driving through hills or valleys, or where communications towers change. The grant money will go to the Springfield, Vt. phone company and internet provider VTel to install cell sites in the state's four southern counties. VTel will even create a novel, Vermont-based cell carrier, while partnering with national brands to extend cell service. "Achieving new expansion of cellular coverage in rural markets has been a genuine challenge, but this award helps us meet that challenge," said Chris Campbell of the Vt. Telecommunications Authority. This summer, New England Cable News visited GW Plastics in Bethel, Vt. to learn just how critical cell coverage is for the company. The community was about to get a new cell tower that the molding firm believed would finally fix nightmares created when customers couldn't call and voicemails wouldn't show up. "It's very frustrating," Tim Reis told NECN on August 1. "It's frustrating to the customers, and I'm frankly getting sick of getting yelled at for not responding." Complaints like that are now diminishing around the state, Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., noted Friday. In addition to discussing the expansion of cell coverage, Shumlin also updated reporters on a 2010 campaign promise regarding technology. Shumlin's administration has laid out a goal of giving each and every Vermont address access to high-speed internet by the end of 2013. Governor Shumlin right now, 95.6 percent of addresses have access to high-speed internet, and work will continue in 2013 to connect the remaining homes and businesses. As for the remaining 12,500 or so addresses, Shumlin and his "Connect Vermont" chief, Karen Marshall, said those will be the hardest to connect. "The last five percent are, you could say, the needle in the haystack," Marshall said. "They are the most far-flung, probably the most expensive, and sometimes even the most physically challenging to get to." More than $170-million in federal Stimulus dollars awarded several years ago are helping pay for much of the broadband build-out in Vermont. More than $116-million of that money went to VTel for its aggressive broadband expansion. State funds, federal loans, and private investments also are covering costs associated with the upgrades. Gov. Shumlin bragged about download speeds users of the build-out can expect from internet service. He said the average speed of connection in Vt. is nine megabits per second, up from 5.5 mbps. "If we were our own country; if Vermont were a separate country, we would be fifth in the world for average speed connection," Shumlin beamed. "In other words, we're not just building a system that gets you service, we're building a fast system for the future." Shumlin called more high-speed connections and more reliable cell phone use critical to this small state's economic development. To report an address in Vermont that's not currently served by high-speed internet, visit this website.