Gopi Sundaram, who helped build out Ireland’s fiber-optic network, returns to Upper Valley
South Royalton VT: ECFiber, the internet service provider (ISP) created in 2008 by a grass-roots effort to solve the problem of broadband availability in rural Vermont, is pleased to announce that its new operator, the Vermont ISP Operating Company (VISPO) has named Gopi Sundaram as Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Sundaram, a graduate of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, has had a long career in the ISP industry, notably as Managing Director with the Tetrad McCourt consortium, the investor group which led Ireland’s National Broadband Plan. He currently is a managing partner at Radius Capital Partners, a firm specializing in rural broadband investments. “My family and I are very happy to be returning to the Upper Valley. The opportunity to lead one of the most inspiring businesses in the industry is exciting. ECFiber literally invented the Vermont Communications Union District (CUD) model for delivering world-class broadband to rural towns that were otherwise being ignored by cable companies, and it did it without grants or taxes.”
VISPO board chair Alessandro Iuppa of West Windsor, who previously served for four years as a member of the District’s Executive Committee, and served as Superintendent of Insurance for the State of Maine, said “We were very happy to have Gopi join the VISPO board initially, and thrilled when he told us he’d be willing to become our CEO. His expertise and deep experience gives VISPO the requisite leadership to manage and operate ECFiber.”
ECFiber Governing Board Chair F. X. Flinn emphasized the importance of preserving local jobs, saying “ECFiber is committed to the local communities we serve and determined to preserve the good paying local jobs that have been created.” When fully staffed, VISPO expects to have up to 35 locally based jobs across a range of disciplines. These include customer service representatives, network administrators, installers, outside plant technicians, bucket truck operators and other well-paying positions with excellent benefits including health care, generous vacation allowances, and a retirement program.
ECFiber’s fiber-to-the-premises network offers 1000Mbps/1000Mbps service, a symmetrical gigabit service that is the entry point for an ISP providing world-class broadband. Moreover, unlike for-profit providers, ECFiber’s community-controlled business mission is to reach every home and business on the grid in the member municipalities. Virtually all the funding has come from borrowed money: initially almost 500 local residents invested $7 million, but after becoming a District in 2015, municipal revenue bonds replaced that startup funding, and all original investors were repaid by 2018.
Legally, ECFiber is the trade name of the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, a special purpose municipality akin to a water district, which comprises 31 towns, each of which exercises a single vote on the District Governing Board through one or more appointed delegates. The District has no taxing authority, thus all funding is through revenue bonds, business surplus or grants. In this way, the community, and not a distant corporation, controls an internet service provider. This accountability is a keystone of the CUD model.
The Vermont ISP Operating Company is a public benefit corporation established under Vermont’s non-profit law for the purpose of providing essential government services. This form of corporation is often used by cities or counties that own their own utilities. VISPO is a good fit for the District, which can be thought of as a regional government that operates a utility.
For information contact:
F. X. Flinn
Governing Board Chair
East Central Vermont Telecommunications District
M: 802-369-0069 | chair@ECVTD.gov
Alessandro Iuppa
Board Chair
Vermont ISP Operating Company
M: 207-409-0773 | aiuppa@VISPOCompany.com
Gopi Sundaram
Chief Executive Officer
Vermont ISP Operating Company
M: 718-915-2216 | gsundaram@VISPOCompany.com