Vermonters in the most rural corners of the state have been waiting a long time for high-speed internet service.
And after a flood of federal COVID money, plus a lot of work by volunteers across the state, it might finally be happening.
On a recent chilly morning, members of the group met to unload eight reels of high-speed fiber optic cable.
The reels weigh almost 2,000 pounds each. A front loader lifted each one off of a flat bed truck and slowly crept across the yard while the crew figured out the best way to store them.
Fiber cable is in short supply across the United States.
The federal government pumped to support broadband buildout, and so communities across the country are now scrambling for cable and equipment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first concrete step of really having material that you can see, hold and touch."Steven John, Deerfield Valley Fiber
Late last year a group got together in Vermont to buy about 2,000 miles of cable. The stuff being unloaded here in the Deerfield Valley is part of that purchase.
Deerfield Valley Fiber chairman Steven John lives in Marlboro, and he鈥檚 been working for almost 10 years to figure out a way to improve broadband service in the region.
John says seeing these reels of fiber lined up in this field makes him think that it might finally happen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first concrete step of really having material that you can see, hold and touch,鈥� John said.
Deerfield Valley Fiber is a , or CUD. It's a nonprofit organization made up of towns that work together to build out networks in rural areas that have been passed over by for-profit companies.
The group has 24 southern Vermont towns in it. John says volunteers have been working hundreds of hours to get to this point, learning as they go, making a mistake here and there, and slowly inching the plan forward.
鈥淵ou see nothing鈥檚 really figured out. We鈥檙e not like following a road map,鈥� John said. 鈥淵ou know, we鈥檙e not following like some plan that says, 鈥楾his is what you do next. This is what you do next.鈥� We have some idea, but mostly it鈥檚 having to do with people and teamwork, and finding something for every volunteer to do that鈥檚 really turning their crank, and, you know, giving them some reward that鈥檚 not financial, that鈥檚 much more significant.鈥�
There are nine CUDs across the state, involving more than 200 towns, and each one is at a different stage of advancement.
Up in the Northeast Kingdom, they鈥檙e already stringing fiber along the dirt roads, while a few groups are only in the early organizational phase.
Here in the Deerfield Valley, DV Fiber is working with a construction and engineering company from Maine to plan and build out the network, thanks to a $4.1 million federal grant.
Joshua Bohar is an engineer with the company , and he says the work being done here in Vermont is being watched around the country as other states figure out how to spend their own broadband money.
鈥淎 lot of the larger providers for years have done a lot of market analysis that say it鈥檚 not worth building that last mile to a lot of these areas,鈥� Bohar said. 鈥淪o this is a pretty massive undertaking. And I think for all of the CUDs in Vermont, it鈥檚 a fascinating model that a lot of areas of the country have struggled with trying to figure out, how do we get symmetrical internet, and just broadband internet, to places that historically and perpetually are not served or underserved.鈥�
About half the CUDs have taken part in this bulk optic fiber purchase.
Along with the group in the Deerfield Valley, and in the Northeast Kingdom, fiber is also being delivered to Maple Broadband in Addison County and to CV Fiber, around Montpelier.
Rob Fish, who鈥檚 with the Vermont Community Broadband Board, says about 64,000 homes, or a little more than 20% of Vermont, has inadequate broadband service.
Fish says the CUDs are dealing with the supply chain and workforce shortages that are slowing things down everywhere, but he thinks that with this fiber now being delivered, there will finally be some progress made on connecting homes along the oft-mentioned "last mile."
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to remember just Vermont is ahead of the game right now,鈥� Fish said. 鈥淟ike, we have done our homework. We created these communication union districts. We鈥檙e getting funding out the door. And we鈥檙e going to see a lot happening over the summer. I am confident of that. There鈥檚 going to be several CUDs that are going to be hanging fiber in the fall and connecting their first customers. We鈥檙e excited for the momentum.鈥�
And there is momentum, even though there are still gaps in funding, and challenges in moving the plans forward.
Back in the Deerfield Valley, the group is working with Green Mountain Power to prepare the poles, but the utility company has its own workforce issues.
The pole work is creeping along, and members of Deerfield Valley Fiber still think they will have their first customers online before the end of this year.
Have questions, comments or tips? or get in touch with reporter Howard Weiss-Tisman .
