BRATTLEBORO — The Shumlin administration is inching ever closer to its goal of universal broadband Internet coverage by the end of 2013.
A meeting updating the efforts of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) in the area is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 23, at 5:30 p.m., at the Municipal Center, 230 Main St.
Residents of Brattleboro, Guilford, and Vernon are encouraged to attend.
“We're making progress to our 2013 goal of universal broadband availability, with over 92 percent of E-911 locations throughout the state covered at this point in time,” said Karen Marshall of the VTA, leader of the ConnectVT effort.
“The remaining 7 percent are often in the hardest to reach areas, and we empathize with the frustration of these consumers who want to take part in the digital world beyond dialup speed and are still waiting for high-speed connections,” Marshall said.
Similar meetings have been held in other Windham County towns in recent weeks to offer progress reports and to find out which locations in the region still lack broadband.
The VTA defines “broadband service” as having a minimum download speed of 758 kilobytes per second (kbps).
By the state's definition, an unserved location would have no option for broadband other than satellite service; an underserved location may have a mobile broadband option but not a fixed option.
One option for accessing broadband has just become available.
Verizon Wireless announced last week it will bring its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to Brattleboro and other Windham County locations, including Dover, Guilford, Londonderry, Stratton, and Vernon.
According to Verizon Wireless, its 4G LTE service allows subscribers with compatible 4G LTE smart phones, modems, and tablets to access the Web at speeds up to 10 times faster than its 3G service. Verizon Wireless claims customers should see average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, and 2 to 5 Mbps for uploads.
Vermont Telephone Co.'s (VTel) Wireless Open World (WOW) Network, also a 4G LTE service, will be available in southeast Vermont by the end of this year, according to the VTA, with speeds estimated as similar to Verizon's offerings.
FairPoint Communications has announced that it was upgrading 69,000 of its customers served by 20 of its central office switching stations, including those in Brattleboro, to improve speeds for its broadband residential customers - up to 15 Mbps, based on distance.
FairPoint says it has invested nearly $100 million in its network in Vermont and has added 1,100 miles of new fiber, providing high-speed access to nearly 90 percent of its customer base.