Milestone: Phase 1 Network Construction
Gig Towns celebrated
Fidium Fiber and its partner, Lamoille FiberNet Communications Union District (CUD) held a “Gig Town reveal” celebration at VSU Johnson, on October 24th. Lamoille FiberNet volunteer Board members joined Consolidated Vice President Sarah Davis to announce completion of the Phase 1 construction that allows access to high-speed broadband internet to almost all of the Lamoille FiberNet district. The event included a full complement of state and local officials, including VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist and Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Lamoille County Planning Commission’s Executive Director Tasha Wallis, Lamoille Economic Development Corporation’s Executive Director Pat Ripley, and from Lamoille County’s legislative delegation: Sen. Richard Westman, Rep. Lucy Boyden, Rep. Michael Marcotte, Rep. Dan Noyes and former Rep. Lucy Rogers.
The event introduced Fidium’s new Gig-speed all-fiber network for residents and businesses in the CUD’s Lamoille County territory and celebrated the thousands of hours of effort by volunteer board members, Lamoille FiberNet staff, and the Consolidated Communications (CCI)/Fidium Fiber team.
Sarah Davis of Fidium commented that “We will start to see the opportunities this new network will provide for economic development, remote work and education, plus telehealth services and more. It means that our Lamoille FiberNet towns are now officially ‘Gig Towns.’” A Gig Town is a community with access to future-ready, all-fiber internet service.
What’s next?
Completion of the distribution network means that homes and businesses can get connected, a process that is now underway – and that Lamoille FiberNet is now one major step closer to achieving our overall goal of making universal broadband service a reality for Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Elmore, Hyde Park, Johnson, Morristown, Stowe, Waterville, and our share of Wolcott.
This is also a pivotal time for Lamoille FiberNet, as we transition from a professional staff-led operation focused on grant acquisition and negotiation of construction contracts to a scaled-back, all-volunteer effort focused on long-term sustainability for oversight and grant compliance. CCI/Fidium Fiber is responsible for all daily network operations, including installing drops to bring fiber from the road to the building, performing installations inside a home or business, and managing the Phase 2 construction (in 2025.
For more information about Fidium’s services, please visit fidiumfiber.com or call (844) 434-3486.
To volunteer for or get more information about Lamoille FiberNet, please go to http://www.LamoilleFiber.net.
LAMOILLE FIBERNET MISSION:
To prioritize access of unserved and underserved addresses to symmetrical, high-speed, and affordable internet service – as soon as possible.
