Vermont Telephone Company, Inc (VTel) announced Tuesday evening that Governor Peter Shumlin's "broadband czar," Karen Marshall, is joining the company as president of VTel Data Network.
Marshall has been shepherding the governor's plan (Connect VT) to bring broadband coverage to 100 percent of Vermont by the end of 2013. VTel has received $116 million from the federal government as part of that effort, the largest single share of any telecom company in the state.
Karen is a talented telecommunications professional with a unique set of leadership skills to enhance the capacity of our team, said VTel Chairman Michel Guité.
VTels 1,400 mile optical fiber network offers first-in-Vermont speeds to 100 billion bits per second connecting Montreal, New York, Boston and Cambridge, MA, with Burlington, Hanover, and Springfield, and serves some of the largest universities, research institutions, and financial firms in Canada and the Northeast.
VTel is working very hard to build and deliver world class voice, video, wired and wireless data services within very demanding time commitments to federal and state partners, Guité added. Karens international experience in Canada and the US make her a tremendous asset to lead development of our multi-state Canada-US fiber network, and to help meet our overall build requirements.
Marshall, from Williston, has held many executive positions at communications firms in Vermont. She served as Chief Operating Officer at SecurShred, a Vermont owned and operated business providing confidential document shredding, imaging, storage and electronic waste services throughout the region. Prior to that, she served as Vice President Northern New England for Comcast Spotlight, the advertising division of Comcast Cable, and Vice President/Vermont for Clear Channel Communications, where she managed 15 radio stations. Previous to that she was at WEZF radio.
Marshall has played an active role in community service, as well, serving as Chair of the Vermont Economic Progress Council, a board member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle counties, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, and UVMs Athletic Advisory Council.
About VTel
VTel is a family-owned telephone company whose network began serving rural Vermont in 1890. It operates a four-state optical fiber network from Vermont with connections to New York City, Boston, and Montreal, with speeds of 1 Gig to 100 Gig, serving some of the most intensive data users in the northeast.
In 2010, VTel received American Reinvestment and Recovery Act awards of $129 million, in grants and loans, to help build Americas first GigE-to-Every-Home network, to extend 4G/LTE wireless broadband to every un-served Vermont community, and to extend its fiber to 200 community anchors in three states. VTel is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the prosperity of Vermont communities and the protection of its working landscape. To that end, VTel actively supports Vermont community groups, drives hybrid vehicles, utilizes clean energy including solar, hydro and wind power, and is committed to improving quality of life in Vermont. We are Vermonters proudly serving Vermonters.
For more information, visit www.vermontel.com.