In Vermont, a thinly-populated rural state, private providers have often shown little interest in investing in broadband improvements. But innovative business and financial structures called Communications Union Districts (CUDs) have been successful in bringing broadband to Vermonters, according to a report released last month by The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
The Vermont Department of Public Service found that, in 2019, that nearly 25% of Vermont addresses lacked service for broadband speeds of even 25/3 Mbps. When it comes to connectivity, Vermont has consistently ranked near the bottom compared with other states.
CUDs are simple in concept: Two or more local governments join to build and market telecommunications infrastructure. They can be likened to water and sewage districts that create better financial conditions by aggregating demand over a broader area. Since they own or oversee the infrastructure, CUDs have longer return-on-investment timelines and are more attractive to investors. CUDs can access the municipal bond markets.
The first CUD in Vermont, ECFiber, began as a limited liability company in 2008. It became a CUD when the legal framework for the approach was approved by legislators. It now brings together 23 communities in the northeast region of the state, according to the report, “Neighborly Networks: Vermont’s Approach to Community Broadband.”
ECFiber was followed by CVFiber (2018), SoVT (2019), NEK Broadband, DVFiber, Lamoille FiberNet, Otter Creek CUD, Northwest Fiberworx, Maple Broadband (2020); and Chittenden County CUD (2022).
In 2021, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) Act 71 passed. The Act supported the formation of CUDs, relaxed rules for their formation, and made it easier to channel emergency funds — at that time becoming available to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — to CUDs.
Today, there are 10 CUDs in various stages of operation. They serve 216 of the state’s 252 municipalities (76% of the state’s population) and 93% of the residences that were unserved by adequate broadband in 2023.
Three CUDs — NEK Broadband, DVFiber and CVFiber — began offering broadband by last year, and six districts are currently planning and designing their networks.
The report, prepared by Ry Marcattilio and Revati Prasad, offers diagrams that highlight the performance and success of ECFiber and CVFiber. ECFiber serves 14,496 households with a population of 35,972 people. More than 11,000 of the households have access to speeds of more than 100 Mbps upload and 20 Mbps download.
In the overlapping territory between CVFiber and ECFiber, more than half of the households — 273 out of 458 — have access to 100/20 Mbps service.
