Broadband breakthrough

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Consolidated partners with CUD on ‘last mile’ service

High-speed internet is nearly ubiquitous in Williston. Last week, Consolidated Communications committed to ensuring high-speed availability to every address in town.

Closing the gap with “last mile” service has been the goal of the Chittenden County Communications Union District (CUD) — an independent, volunteer-run entity that voters created in 2022 and represents eight Burlington-area municipalities. Last Wednesday, the CUD announced a partnership with Consolidated Communications’ Fidium division to make fiber-based high-speed internet universally accessible.

The agreement awards a $2.1 million grant from the Vermont Community Broadband Board to Fidium using federal funds. A second round of funding is anticipated in 2025 — although all federal funding is now in question.

“Chittenden County includes some of the most densely populated and served areas of Vermont, but our communities are not immune to accessibility gaps,” said Michael Vance of Williston, who chairs the CUD board. “There is still work to be done, and we look forward to continuing this effort to fill the gaps that remain, but this is a fantastic step toward equitable connectivity.”

Fidium estimates that there are 150 unserved or underserved addresses within the CUD member municipalities: Essex, Essex Junction, Jericho, Shelburne, South Burlington, Underhill, Westford and Williston. In Williston, where Xfinity and Consolidated Communications already operate extensive broadband networks, Vance estimates that number is around 20.

“Williston does not have a lot of underserved people,” he said.

But Fidium’s fiber service may be a speed upgrade for homes that already have internet service.

“Willistonians will benefit,” Vance said, “not just the ones who are underserved, if it’s something they want … Some people are perfectly happy to stay with whatever they have.”

The Vermont Community Broadband Board maintains a statewide map of internet service availability. It shows that, in Williston, there is an unserved cluster of homes along the eastern shoreline of Lake Iroquois, and other unserved addresses scattered south of Interstate 89.

“We have seen how fiber has transformed communities, and we are so excited to bring Fidium to the hardest to reach locations in Chittenden County,” the company’s vice president of market development, Sarah Davis, said, touting benefits that include increased home values, increased self-employment and increased work-from-home flexibility.