Your very own ECFiber continues to appear in several regional news outlets after celebrating lighting the last of our 23 original member towns yesterday; a feat well over a decade in the making! The overwhelmingly positive show of support from politicians and the general public was truly remarkable.
“By banding together on a community basis and using a form of self-government, the Communication Union District, to manage it, we were able to raise the money to do it. We can operate the business, we can pay the employees well, we can pay off the money we’ve been borrowing,” says ECFiber Board Chair, F.X. Flinn
Royalton, Vermont- ValleyNet proudly announced today that they have transferred all of their staff and operating responsibilities to GWI Vermont in an undertaking that was years in the making. The recently formed GWI Vermont is a subsidiary of Biddeford Internet Corporation, d.b.a GWI. GWI, based out of Biddeford, Maine, founded in 1994, is a benefit corporation and was the nation’s first B Corporation Certified broadband carrier. ValleyNet is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) founded in Vermont as a non-profit in 1994 and has operated ECFiber since 2008. In 2020, ValleyNet expanded fiber operations in Lyme, New Hampshire, in partnership with LymeFiber. ECFiber created the blueprint for Vermont’s communication union districts (CUDs), which are now the centerpiece of the state’s strategy for solving the rural broadband crisis. GWI Vermont will continue to maintain and build upon the standards for this model with the transfer of operations. The GWI/ValleyNet partnership originally began in 2020 when GWI became the chosen ValleyNet phone provider. This partnership deepened in June of 2022 when Valleynet announced a restructuring of its management, design, build, and operating services in an expanded partnership with GWI. Moving forward, GWI and subsequently GWI Vermont’s tenured knowledge and dedication to operations and support will continue to grow and improve all facets of the ECFiber customer experience.
ECFiber announced today it has placed $9 million of new municipal revenue bonds at an average interest rate of 4.48% and average maturity of 21 years. This brings ECFiber’s total bond commitments to $63.3 million with about 70% of its network constructed. Last week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) approved the municipally-owned broadband provider’s $2.8 million grant application for pre-construction expenses. With over 6,700 customers in 23 towns, ECFiber continues to show the way forward as Vermont’s first communications union district (CUD).
Royalton, VT: October 21, 2020 ECFiber will build over 160 miles of fiber‐optic network in towns of Bradford, Corinth, Fairlee, West Fairlee and Windsor in 2021, according to a proposed budget released to its member towns this week. The budget also provides funding for 75 miles of network in Hartford and 40 miles of construction in existing towns to meet increased demand. ECFiber Chairman F.X. Flinn commented, “The pandemic has made it crystal clear to everyone that rural Vermont needs access to world‐class broadband. ECFiber’s approach is the only real solution to meet those needs. That’s why seven towns joined ECFiber this year. That’s why eight new districts like ECFiber have been established in Vermont this year. Next construction season, we are going to start delivering in those new towns ‐‐ and we are not spending taxpayers money to do this.” The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, which does business as ECFiber, sent its annual report and proposed budget to the selectboards of its 30 member towns this week and announced plans for an electronic public hearing on the proposed budget on Tuesday, November 10th, at 7pm. The budget, with any changes, will be formally adopted at the December 8th meeting. Included in the materials is a chart showing planned construction for the next 3 years, along with notes indicating that the towns of Newbury, Topsham, and Washington, which also joined the district this year, may see some construction next year. The local electricity utility, Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC), is in discussions with ECFiber, and its operating partner, ValleyNet, regarding this possibility. ValleyNet, a non‐profit organization and the Upper Valley’s first internet service provider, was instrumental in creating ECFiber and has proven it is possible to deliver world class broadband to rural Vermont in a cost‐effective manner without putting any burden on taxpayers. As Vermont’s first communications union district (CUD), the effort is funded entirely by customer revenues, which back tax‐free municipal bonds issued by the district. To date the district has borrowed over $41 million and plans an additional bond offering for over $11 million in December. Chris Recchia, ValleyNet’s Managing Director and head of ECFiber’s day to day business, noted, “We are excited to be closing in on completing construction in our original member towns where there is no access to cable internet. This opens the door to a rapid build out of similar areas in our new towns. Our website is ready to start taking signups and I encourage residents in our new towns to do that now. The more advance planning we can do the faster we will be able to turn them into customers.” ECFiber delivers internet via fiber‐to‐the‐premises (FTTP), where fiber‐optic cable is used to provide equal speed for uploads and downloads, called symmetrical service. This results in smoother online meetings, effortless video streaming and the ability to use WiFi calling on mobile phones. Each connection is independent, so everyone in a neighborhood can be using the service without impacting others. Presently ECFiber offers speeds of 25/25, 100/100, 300/300 and 800/800 mbps download/upload, plus a phone service option, and has over 5,200 customers. When fully built in all 30 member towns nearly 31,500 premises will be able to access world‐class broadband.
Royalton, Vermont – October 11, 2017 When local residents began planning to build their own high-speed fiber-optic network back in 2007, few expected them to be able to surmount the many challenges facing a high-tech start-up.
As of October 2017, the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (ECFiber) has built over 420 miles of cable and connected over 2,000 active customers in parts of 20 member towns. It plans to complete another 170 miles of network this year and another 250 miles in 2018.
The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (“ECFiber”) has completed a $14.5M revenue bond financing to complete its construction providing universal broadband coverage for 6 entire towns – Pittsfield, West Windsor, Pomfret, Barnard, Strafford and Thetford. The $14.5M financing will also allow ECFiber to begin the process to cover several additional towns (350 miles) in 2018, refinance higher cost debt, and connect over 800 subscribers in 2017.
BARNARD — A consortium of 23 mostly-rural Vermont towns formed to provide high-speed Internet access to underserved areas has hooked up its first customer. On Wednesday, the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network, known more commonly as ECFiber, hooked up a high-speed Internet connection for Barnard resident Gretchen Wilson. ECFiber has been working for years to bring high-speed Internet to the area. The company recently began testing eight beta sites, including the Barnard General Store. Wilson told WCAX-TV that having high-speed Internet access is exciting for her and the rest of the town.
