DEERFIELD VALLEY- Last December, former Vermont Telecommunications Authority chairman Mary Evslin announced the state’s new plans to provide statewide cell phone and broadband Internet service by 2010. With the deadline looming over the horizon, one southern Vermont company is taking the necessary steps to ensure the goal becomes reality and the Deerfield Valley acquires greater broadband service.

The Vermont Telephone Company Inc., of Springfield, is seeking federal funding for a $70 million optical fiber and wireless network. Michel Guite, president of Vermont Telephone Company, said their project will deliver broadband Internet to underserved areas throughout southern Vermont. Guite said the new project may become a reality as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside $7.2 billion for rural broadband development. With approximately 40,000 Vermonters having very little or no broadband access, the state of Vermont stands to benefit.

Guite said VTel is competing with 2,200 applications around the country, including 15 applicants from Vermont. Guite believes the combined total requested by all 15 companies may be in excess of $200 million. VTel and ECFiber, of White River Junction, have requested $180 million in total projects. “I am guessing that the Vermont total might be in excess of $200 million, and Vermont’s pro rata (or proportional) share is in range of $40 million. This is a topic of intense interest to federal officials, state officers, and is an interesting mix of politics and finance,” said Guite.

Guite said the proposed optical fiber and wireless project will reach underserved and underfunded communities south of Montpelier all the way to the Massachusetts and New York borders. Should VTel receive funding, the goal is to construct 17 wireless transmission towers throughout southern Vermont. The new towers will allow wireless providers to send more data to Vermonters at a lower cost. Guite did not provide specifics.

Another component of the plan is outreach. VTel will hold Rural Broadband Farm Forum meetings throughout southern Vermont to inform residents about the available services. “This is reviving a Rural Radio Farm Forum model that helped rural America recover from the Great Depression. We’re going to reinvigorate this old idea,” said Guite.

VTel will also propose a $10 per month wireless fixed and mobile broadband, using statewide 700 MHz licenses they currently own. Guite said the 700 MHz wireless network will use Long Term Evolution technology and enhance the capacity and speed for transmitting data. The other component is providing optical fiber to every VTel home, delivering GigE (or Gigbit Ethernet) billion bits per second Internet at the same price that they charge DSL customers today. Pending all funding, Guite said Vermont may be one of the first places in the United Sates to utilize this new technology. “To have it centralized in Vermont would be amazing,” said Guite.

Guite said federal agencies are currently reviewing applications and VTel should hear within eight weeks if they are to receive preliminary funding. He said the process has been fast moving and if approved, the goal is to put the funds to use in order to meet the VTA deadline. Overall, Guite says he is optimistic that the state can meet the goal and this funding will help considerably. “Vermont is a very rural state compared to Illinois or New York because it’s small in terms of population. I think the state will be funded beyond the amount of its pro rata population,” said Guite.

Mount Snow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Sibilia said the chamber has seen the proposal and commends VTel’s efforts to seek the available funds. “We’re all for it,” said Sibilia.

If the funding is approved, VTel will be the third company to provide broadband service. Duncan Cable and Fairpoint Communications are the area’s other providers.