Volunteer effort helps bring high-speed internet access to thousands across Vermont
'It’s just so important in so many ways to everybody here. It’s not the computer anymore. It’s our whole house. It’s our whole life,' said Mark Woodward
LAMOILLE COUNTY, Vt. —Slow internet access, or even no internet access, has been a challenge for many Vermont communities, but it won't be for much longer. A statewide effort to expand broadband access is underway and even moving ahead of schedule.
According to the Vermont Community Broadband Board, around 75,000 Vermonters did not have broadband access in 2020. In 2024, that number is down to around 40,000 Vermonters and dropping. The VCBB was formed in 2021 to help the state reach its goal of expanding broadband access to all Vermonters by 2030, but Christine Hallquist, the executive director of the VCBB, said it could happen by 2028.
"We’re really hitting it hard and doing a great job throughout the state," Hallquist said. "And it really is because we have over 400 volunteers working to get this done.”
Currently, work is getting started in Lamoille County to expand broadband access to 4,800 homes. The state has awarded grant funding to the Lamoille FiberNet communications union district, which is one of 10 communications union districts in Vermont. Each CUD is made up of at least two rural communities working together to gain broadband access.
Consolidated Communication's fiber broadband service, Fidium Fiber, is currently breaking ground on phase 1 in Lamoille County. The goal of the first phase is to connect around 4,100 addresses by the end of September, said Jeffrey Austin, the senior director at Consolidated.
Austin said the second phase will bring access to the remaining 10% of residents in 2025.
But neighbors in the county are just excited to know the work is getting done.
“It’s just so important in so many ways to everybody here. It’s not the computer anymore. It’s our whole house. It’s our whole life," said Mark Woodward.
Woodward has lived in Johnson, VT, since 1978, but he said it's been a growing struggle to use most of the things he needs in his day-to-day life without high-speed internet access.
“It’s my car, it’s my solar system, it’s my hot water heater," he said.
Woodward is also a member of the selectboard, and he said he's been working to bring the connection to his community for decades.
“I was involved in trying to get high-speed internet to Johnson in the '90s, you know. So, it’s been a priority of mine for a long time and I think it’s just a game changer for so many people that don’t live in the village core," he said.
Anyone living in Lamoille County is encouraged to register for updates on service availability with Fidium Fiber here.