Otter Creek broadband project comes in under budget

The effort to bring high-speed internet service to unserved and under-served areas in Rutland County is complete, and spent nearly $3 million less than projected.

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced Monday that the Otter Creek Communications Union District’s universal service plan project came in $2.99 million under budget and was done ahead of schedule.

The project made fiber optic broadband service available to 3,626 addresses, 1,278 of which had no service prior, according to VCBB.

Otter Creek Communications Union District (Otter Creek CUD) is among several communications union districts across the state that were formed to shepherd the expansion of high-speed internet access, a goal long sought by Vermont leaders.

Laura Black, chair of the Otter Creek CUD, said the district only had to spend $5.5 million of its own grant money on this project, as it came in under budget. Consolidated Communications and GoNetSpeed contributed as well.

Black said a number of things led to the cost coming in lower than expected. One was the partnership with GoNetSpeed which came later on in the planning process. The company is an internet service provider with customers in Benson, Castleton, Cornwall, Hubbardton, Orwell, Shoreham, Sudbury, and Whiting.

The Otter Creek CUD’s territory also didn’t see any serious weather events during the building, unlike some other parts of Vermont, said Black.

Christine Hallquist, VCBB executive director, said one of the more expensive aspects of building a telecommunications network is securing rights of way. In the Otter Creek CUD, Consolidated Communications had much of that in place and it was only a matter of running fiber lines. This cut down on costs, as did the fact that the engineers for this project built in a 30% contingency. This is common in construction projects, she said, to cover unexpected costs.

“Back in 2022, we were encouraging high levels of contingency because in 2021 the ARPA programs were all getting out there and the costs were escalating significantly,” she said.

ARPA is the American Rescue Plan Act, which saw numerous funds distributed across the country towards various projects to help recover from the pandemic.

Hallquist said the expected cost spikes with fiber didn’t materialize, another reason for this project being cheaper in the end.

“If we were paying 2021 prices things would have been significantly higher,” she said.

Hallquist said the money saved on this project will be used for the Affordable Long Drop Program, a grant program that service providers can apply for to cover some of the cost of connecting people to broadband internet who are harder to reach.

According to Black, this project will complete the construction part of the Otter Creek CUD’s work. Going forward, it will serve as an accountability organization making sure its partners deliver on service, and can also respond to changes in legislation or any issues customers are having.

Hallquist said many of the state’s CUDs plan to do this, though some will be the ones operating their networks.

Otter Creek CUD covers Benson, Brandon, Castleton, Chittenden, Fair Haven, Goshen, Hubbardton, Mendon, Pawlet, Pittsford, Poultney, Rutland Town, Rutland City, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Wells, West Rutland, and West Haven.

“Every day, we see how fiber empowers communities to build brighter futures, and we are proud to deliver Fidium’s future-ready gig-speed internet to the communities represented by Otter Creek CUD,” stated Sarah Davis, vice president of market development for Fidium, the broadband part of Consolidated Communications. “Our partnership with OCCUD and VCBB is a shining example of how collaboration is key to bridging the digital divide, connecting Vermonters in downtowns and on dirt roads alike to the myriad economic, employment, educational, and entertainment benefits that come with reliable fiber access.”

Davis stated in an email Friday that while cost savings like these aren’t the norm, the company’s partners here made it work.

“Our teams worked hard to maximize the impact of our own investment, ensuring grant funds were responsibly utilized to bring fiber to more Vermonters. Fidium is investing in and expanding our network across Vermont; 146,000 new fiber locations since 2021 with investment of $134 million, including $5 million on the Otter Creek expansion. We are excited for the residents and businesses in Otter Creek CUD communities to take advantage of all the benefits that come (with) reliable connectivity," she stated.

Read this story and more from the Rutland Herald: https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/otter-creek-broadband-project-comes-in-under-budget/article_a43d2880-40b9-41a1-a7fb-dda0ad35dd05.html