2026 Annual Report and 2027 Budget Proposal
Documents
Table of Contents
Vermont’s Communications Union Districts (CUDs) are obligated to annually “approve and cause to be distributed to the legislative body of each District member for review and comment an annual report of [the District’s] activities, together with a financial statement, a proposed District budget for the next fiscal year, and a forecast presenting anticipated year-end results.”
Your town is one of 31 members of the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, which owns the business operated under the trade name ECFiber, and this document is provided to the Selectboards of the District’s member towns in conformance with the law. We are also providing a template your municipality can follow to post notice of the public hearing on the 2027 District budget, which the District governing board will conduct on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 7pm.
Report of Activities October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026
On July 21, 20 years after its conception, in its 18th year of existence, its 15th year of serving customers, and its 10th year as a special-purpose municipality, ECFiber completed construction of its network. There are now no more on-grid locations in our District classified as unserved (DSL or dialup) or underserved (less than third-generation cable technology). There are about 31,500 serviceable premises in the District located on almost 2,000 miles of roads; our network consists of 2,142 miles of fiber optic cable. At present we have over 10,000 customers.
The main goal of the District today is to reach 14,000 customers by the end of 2029, refinance its debt with an investment grade rating, and continue to hold prices steady or even reduce them. Although we had the benefit of a pandemic era ARPA grant to help build out the 8 new towns admitted in 2020, the bulk of our $85 million+ network was funded through the issuance of $70 million in municipal revenue bonds. Even so our Basic service is only $2 more than the state’s least expensive provider of 100/100 internet (after promotions expire).
There are two important pieces of news we are pleased to share. First is that the Affordable Long Drop Program grant we received last October is in full swing and we are able to overcome a huge affordability barrier that came up when a customer needed an underground connection. We can now connect most Vermont taxpayers who own the home they live in at no cost. To date we have connected over 200 residents and are actively seeking more interested households. More information can be found here: https://www.ecfiber.net/support/conduit-and-long-drops/
Second is that the issues we faced during the second half of last year and during the first quarter this year involving our decision to not renew the operating agreement with ValleyNet, later assumed by GWI, are resolved. The District has great confidence in the leadership of the non-profit corporation the District decided fit its model better, called VISPO for the Vermont ISP Operating Company. As predicted, nearly all of the staff that had been operating ECFiber when it was ValleyNet and then GWI are now working for VISPO. This was important to the District, which has always believed that ECFiber would create 30 or so good jobs in our area, and it has. Sticking with GWI would have led to local workforce reductions via outsourcing.
As we reminded you last year, there is a wonderful 35-minute documentary available free on YouTube about Vermont’s CUDs which tells the story of ECFiber: Connected. It will remind you what Vermonters can do by joining together and figuring out what works for our time and place. If that leaves you wanting more, watch the Golden Patch Cord Celebration where ECFiber declared its original mission fulfilled. You will hear Senator Welch (one of our customers) and a dozen other speakers who held the audience spellbound as they recounted the creation of ECFiber. Enjoy!
Miraculously, we – the member towns – collectively own and operate a fiber-to-the-premises network built without burdening local taxpayers. We do this through a special purpose municipality called the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District. The only obligation a member town has is to appoint a delegate to exercise the vote of the town on the Governing Board of the District; the District can never impose any cost or tax on towns or citizens. In effect, we are a regional utility which will eventually retire its debt and lower prices (or simply not raise them – we have never raised prices in our 15 years of operations).
This network delivers a level of broadband service not generally available outside of large modern cities or dense, wealthy suburbs – a symmetrical gigabit, meaning a speedtest that looks like 1000/1000 instead of 7/2 or 300/15 or 1200/40. That 1G “square” is the starting point for “world-class broadband.” Having fast upload is increasingly vital for users of WiFi calling, online conferencing, performing remote work that involves large data transfers, smart home devices and security systems. Gone are the days when the internet was just a way to download email, music, and video.
We invite you to visit ECFiber.net to access our District map showing member towns. Our new website for the District as a governing body is ECVTD.gov, and there you can access minutes of our governing board meetings, audits, and annual reports. Details about our bonds and current trades are available at EMMA, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board market access site.
Just as a reminder, we ask each town to renew its appointments to the governing board each year after Town Meeting and before the end of April. The regular governing board meetings take place monthly on the second Tuesday, with the May meeting doubling as the annual meeting of the District.
F. X. Flinn, Chair, Governing Board (Town of Hartford Delegate)
e: chair@ecfiber.net · m: 802-369-0069
October 17, 2026
Quechee, Vermont
Attachments
- Projected 2026 Results & Operating Budget 2027
- Notice for Posting: Public Hearing on ECFiber’s Proposed 2027 Budget
Projected 2026 Results & Operating Budget 2027
| Line item | 2026 Budget | 2026 Projections | 2027 Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network Miles | 2,100 | 2,142 | 2,142 |
| Subscribers | 11,267 | 10,690 | 11,454 |
| Revenues | |||
| Subscriptions | $13,914,000 | $13,688,000 | $14,557,000 |
| Installation | $151,000 | $120,000 | $77,000 |
| Grants and Misc Revenues | $6,000,000 | $7,308,000 | $647,000 |
| Operating Revenues | $20,065,000 | $21,116,000 | $15,281,000 |
| Operating Expenses | |||
| Cost of Service Revenue | $1,977,000 | $2,172,000 | $1,434,000 |
| Employees | $3,634,000 | $3,753,000 | $3,658,000 |
| Non-Payroll Expenses | $6,260,000 | $3,832,000 | $3,768,000 |
| Operating Expenses | $11,871,000 | $9,757,000 | $8,860,000 |
| Operating Surplus (EBITDA) | $8,194,000 | $11,359,000 | $6,421,000 |
| Debt Service | $5,023,000 | $5,003,000 | $5,003,000 |
| Debt Service Ratio (1.25 minimum) | 1.63 | 2.79 | 1.35 |
| Operating Surplus after Debt Service | $3,170,000 | $6,355,000 | $1,418,000 |
| Other Income | |||
| Interest Income | $400,000 | $308,000 | $309,000 |
| Operating Income | $8,594,000 | $11,667,000 | $6,730,000 |
| Other Expenses | |||
| Interest - Revenue Bonds | $3,403,000 | $3,374,000 | $3,298,000 |
| Interest - Vehicle Loans | $18,000 | $26,000 | $20,000 |
| Issuance Expenses | $ – | $ – | $ – |
| Amortization of Note Prepayment Penalties | $40,000 | $79,000 | $46,000 |
| Depreciation (30 year) | $2,300,000 | $2,479,000 | $2,580,000 |
| Net income | $2,833,000 | $5,709,000 | $786,000 |
This table is an image in the source document and has been transcribed here. Refer to the source PDF for the official figures.
Notes:
- Amounts rounded to nearest thousand.
- Financial statements are included in our 2025 Audit, available on https://ECVTD.gov.
- EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.
- The District’s Revenue Bonds require EBITDA to exceed 1.25x of annual debt service.
Notice of Public Hearing
East Central Vermont Telecommunications District
(dba ECFiber)
Proposed Budget for 2027
The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 at 7 pm in conjunction with the November board meeting.
The purpose of this hearing is to consider the proposed District budget for 2027. Copies of the meeting agenda and proposed budget are available at: https://ecvtd.gov/meetings/. The annual report and financial statements can be reviewed online at: https://ecvtd.gov/financials/. Copies are also available upon request in written or electronic form.
The meeting will be held virtually, via Zoom, rather than at a single physical location. However, anyone wishing to attend physically at a public location within the District should contact the Secretary at least one business day in advance for accommodation.
Zoom details
- Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84295450154?pwd=FjA3ib80UXTzMC9HwHtxdXXNi5VKjb.1
- Meeting ID: 842 9545 0154
- Passcode: 931812
- Phone: (646) 931-3860
Contact
John Powell, Secretary
East Central Vermont Telecommunications District dba ECFiber
415 Waterman Rd
S Royalton VT 05068
802-ECFiber · Secretary@ECVTD.gov