For Immediate Release
January 18, 2023

Contact:
Herryn Herzog, VCBB Communications & Outreach Coordinator
phone: (802) 522-3396
email: Herryn.Herzog@Vermont.gov

Montpelier, Vermont  — The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is celebrating DVFiber, one of Vermont’s 10 Communications Union Districts (CUDs), on connecting its first customers to high-speed fiber optic Internet.

Customers in Readsboro were connected late last month. This pilot group is testing the DVFiber network for reliability of speed and access to the Internet for a three-month period. DVFiber will survey the pilot group for feedback regarding all aspects of customer service, including initial connection, call response time, repair, customer support, and billing. The survey findings will help ensure that connecting larger numbers of customers will go as quickly and smoothly as possible this year.

“Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to get these residents connected. This is a great step toward our goal of bringing broadband to every Vermonter,” said VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist.

“The connection of the pilot program customers marks a huge milestone for Readsboro. In recent years, whenever someone new moves into town the first thing they ask is, ‘What’s the best option for Internet service?’ and really there were no good broadband options available. So, for me,” says Omar Smith, Readsboro’s representative to the DVFiber Governing Board, “it’s very exciting to see a ‘world-class’ option available for our community. It creates a level playing field for our residents to have the same connected services as many larger, more densely populated areas.”

Now that DVFiber is officially an Internet service provider (ISP) for the region, its next focus will be to continue its construction to expand and connect more customers in 2023. The current plan is that DVFiber will connect customers in areas of Halifax, Marlboro, Readsboro, Stamford, and Whitingham. DVFiber’s construction build-out design does not track town borders, so portions of some member towns may be available to be connected sooner than another section of the same town. This construction work is expected to take the better part of the next two years.

“These initial homes mark the first step in achieving our goal to make fibernet service accessible and affordable to all in our district,” says DVFiber Chair Steven John. “This is our mission and sole purpose as your publicly owned and operated Internet service provider.”

DVFiber was established in southeastern Vermont in 2020 to provide universal, affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service that will support economic development and expand educational opportunities within the district. The CUD operates under the principles of equity, performance, affordability, reliability, and privacy, and currently encompasses a total of 24 towns. For more information, visit dvfiber.net.

214 Vermont towns are members of CUDs, including more than seventy-six percent of the state’s population and ninety-three percent of premises without access to 25/3 service. Six of Vermont’s ten CUDs are currently under construction.