Chittenden Is Focus of Vermont Telecommunications Authority Award

Montpelier - The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) has announced an award of $89,303 to cable service provider Comcast to expand broadband services in the town of Chittenden. Comcast will also make a capital investment in order to complete the project.

"Extending broadband service to this part of Rutland County is another positive step toward my goal of ensuring that every corner of Vermont will have access to high-speed Internet," said Governor Peter Shumlin on learning of the award. "Partnering with providers like Comcast will help us reach this important objective. Residents, businesses and visitors to Vermont rely on broadband, and I am delighted with the progress we have made."

New service will be available along all or portions of the following roads: Curtis, Dam and Wildcat. As a result, residents in this area will have access to broadband speeds of up to 105 Mbps downstream through Comcast's Xfinity Internet service, exceeding the minimum VTA requirement of combined 5Mbps upload and download speed.

"We look forward to extending our advanced broadband network to reach even more unserved areas that the Vermont Telecommunications Authority has identified as a top priority," said Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Western New England Region, which includes Vermont.

The VTA made the award through the broadband grant round it announced on January 31, 2013. Funding for the grant program was made possible by an appropriation of the Legislature in the FY2012-2013 Capital Budget requested by Governor Shumlin as part of the Connect VT initiative. The list of locations eligible for the grant program was compiled using data collected from providers through Vermont's Broadband Mapping Initiative. To stay up-to-date on broadband initiatives, visit telecomvt.org and broadbandvt.org.

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