by Mickey Smith

According to the Lamoille County Broadband Development Committee, Fairpoint Communications has answered a request for proposal (RFP) regarding the Vermont Telecommunications Authority Backroads Broadband RFP.

Under the terms of the RFP, Fairpoint's response will include bringing “100% broadband availability to all unserved locations within a target community.”  In this case, the target community includes the five towns of Cambridge, Waterville, Belvidere, Johnson and Eden.

The only areas deemed an exception to the coverage area are: locations that already have access to broadband services with a download speed of at least 768 kb per second and an upload speed of at least 200 kb per second, currently have no telecommunications or electric service provided by a company regulated by the Vermont Public Service Board or are seasonal properties used less than six months per year.

The Lamoille County Broadband Development Committee (LCBDC) formed this past June and encompasses the broadband committees of each of the five towns being covered.  The Lamoille County Planning Commission, the Lamoille County Economic Development Corporation and the Vermont Electric Co-op are considered non-town affiliated members.

In a press release regarding the RFP, Dennis Shanley, chair of LCBDC, said a lot of the credit has to go to the  residents of the five towns who called and emailed Fairpoint in an effort to make the company aware of the intense desire for broadband service.

“Without them we wouldn't have been able to present a business case to Fairpoint,” said Shanley.

RFPs for the project were due Friday, August 13, at the Vermont Telecommunications Authority at the National Life Complex in Montpelier.  Exact details of speeds and costs were not going to be available until after the proposal was officially submitted.

“We expect that further details concerning Fairpoint's response to the Backroads Broadband RFP will be available soon,” said Shanley.