ECFiber Trucks Are Rolling!
About the Press Conference (8/31/09)
Today’s press conference announced the start of concrete work on ECFiber’s Fiber-to-the-Home project, probably the most important economic development project in this part of Vermont since the construction of the Interstate highway system.
ECFiber has chosen Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG) to construct the network. AEG, one of the nation’s leading builders of Fiber-to-the-Home networks, is sufficiently confident that ECFiber will receive funding from the RUS (see below) that it has agreed to begin work prior to actual receipt of the funding.
Status of Financing
- Financing for the network was nearly complete when, in mid-September 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers froze all capital markets. Thousands of municipal projects all over the country—including ECFiber—were forced to mothball their plans.
- Not long after, however, the election of Barack Obama and the new Congress resulted in the passage in March 2009 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, also known as the “Stimulus Bill”) which contained provision for funding of projects like ECFiber.
- Rules for broadband funding under the Stimulus Bill were announced in July and the application deadline was set for August 14.
- ECFiber, with the strong support of the Vermont Congressional Delegation and the State Administration, decided to apply for Stimulus funding. The application (all 230 pages!) was submitted, complete, on time, and on spec.
About ECFiber
ECFiber is a joint venture formed by 22 Vermont towns to bring a state-of-the-art Fiber-to-the-Home network to our communities to provide high quality television, telephone, and broadband internet services. It was formed following overwhelming votes of support at the Town Meetings of the member towns in March 2008.
The principles are to create a broadband network which is:
a) universally available: Every residence, business, school, hospital, government office or institution will have access to the same service at the same rates. No exceptions, no excuses.
b) open access: Anyone will be able to use the network on non-discriminatory terms.
c) financially self sustaining: The network will pay for itself from the revenues of its subscribers. No risk nor burden will fall on the taxpayers of the member towns.
d) future proof: the network will last for the foreseeable future. It will not become obsolete in a few years but will able to be upgraded easily and efficiently to meet any foreseeable growth in demand or change in technology.
Contact:
Bob Merrill, ECFiber Press Relations
info@ecfiber.net 802.457.4938