Vermont is investing $5 million to expand cell service in...
Vermont is investing $5 million to expand cell service in multiple counties around the state, the governor’s office said Monday (http://xrl.us/bn8ozk). The Vermont Telecom Authority [VTA] approved the grant. “This investment of state funds for cellular equipment through VTel Wireless…
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will fill in some of our most challenging gaps in southern Vermont,” said Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, in a statement. “Connect VT, the VTA and our carriers are tackling our cellular challenge on all fronts.” VTel Wireless has already built significant broadband infrastructure, which will be expanded into 4G LTE as part of the company’s Wireless Open World efforts, the governor said. It’s “building towers, extending fiber, adding equipment for faster service, and using our expedited permitting process to get it done,” he added. VTel President Michel Guite credited the expansion to the state grant and the FCC Mobility Fund. Connect Vermont Chief Karen Marshall said the state’s goal is to “vastly expand” access by the end of next year. Shumlin has sought to expand broadband access throughout his Connect Vermont program and outlined progress in a separate release Monday (http://xrl.us/bn8ozx). The state’s “high-speed broadband network has expanded to reach an estimated 282,000 locations since 2010, is poised to connect to another 12,500 in the coming months, and barring any unforeseen glitches, is on track to serve every household and business in Vermont by the end of 2013,” the governor’s office said. Average connection speed has risen from 5.5 Mbps to 9 Mbps, it said, and “$248 million of the currently planned $373 million has been spent, with 2100 of our 3500 fiber miles constructed, more than 40 new cell sites built, and more than 83 percent of our connections at an average speed greater than 4 Mbps.” Vermont has 500 areas that remain a challenge that it’s seeking to creatively address, it said.