Construction is under way to expand and improve broadband to nearly 650 locations in central Vermont. TDS Telecom (TDS®) began work in February in the Northfield and Roxbury areas, with the project expected to be done by spring 2018.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated $263,655 to reach residents in some of the hardest to serve areas in Vermont. The funding will also be used to maintain a voice and broadband network as well as building out to these locations. The FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) will provide funding to more than 1,000 locations in central Vermont with hundreds of customers expected to receive benefits from the network upgrade work.
Vermont residents can visit the TDS website to find out how this federal program may impact their location.
Depending on location, most TDS customers in eligible rural areas will receive guaranteed broadband speeds of 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3). Under the agreement with the FCC, the remaining customers will receive broadband service at lower speeds of 10/1 and 4/1Mbps.
“We are excited to start work on this project to move faster connections to customers in the Northfield and Roxbury areas,” said Scott Brooks, manager – State Government Affairs at TDS.
In January, TDS announced it elected to receive approximately $75.1 million a year to increase broadband access in 25 states from the FCC’s A-CAM, under the Connect America Fund (CAF) program. TDS will leverage the funds over the next 10 years to support the buildout of rural broadband networks to nearly 160,000 locations across the country.
TDS has been doing business in Vermont since 1970 and owns three telephone companies in the state. TDS employs 22 people in Vermont.
Source: https://vtdigger.org/2017/07/17/telephone-data-services-telecom-expand-locations-vermont/