Executive Committee votes to cover $30 monthly subsidy in hopes of Congressional action
Vermont Business Magazine ECFiber customers in danger of losing a $30 monthly credit on their bill as the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) expires will receive a one-month extension directly from ECFiber. The decision was made by the executive committee in hopes that the ACP program funding will be replenished by congressional action in the coming weeks. “We can move quickly because we are a small community-oriented ISP,” said committee member Irv Thomae, who chaired ECFiber for many years, “but we cannot provide this support on our own for very long.” A bipartisan effort led by Senator Peter Welch is gaining momentum as the impact of the program’s end becomes reality for tens of millions of economically distressed households across the country.
ECFiber has also been enhancing the ACP benefit by providing a private $20 monthly credit through its internal affordability fund, which previously had been the source of donations totaling $270,000 to the now-inactive Equal Access to Broadband, Inc., a nonprofit that ECFiber leadership created to develop affordability programs prior to the advent of the ACP. The full governing board of ECFiber had previously voted to continue the $20 subsidy for the remainder of 2024.
The cost of building and operating a business that delivers world-class broadband where cable and phone companies refuse to invest means the lowest price ECFiber can offer is $72 a month, largely because it is funded by borrowed money, not grants.
“If ECFiber had no debt service expenses, our lowest price could probably be $39 a month,” said F. X. Flinn, Board Chair, “That day is 15 to 25 years in the future, but at that point we will not only be the best technology, but also the low-cost provider. Until then, we need the Federal and State governments to help low-income households with targeted subsidies. The ACP accomplishes that; it certifies eligible households and has a simple system for registering customers. It just needs to be funded.”
The combined $50 credit brings that down to $22 for eligible households.
ECFiber is the trade name of a community-controlled internet service provider created by a grassroots effort that began in 2006. Community control is exercised by the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, a special purpose municipality akin to a water district. The District, comprised of 31 towns, each of which exercises a single vote on the District Governing Board.
The District has no taxing authority and cannot call upon member town taxpayers for any support; the revenues of the business must cover all costs including loan repayments. To date, 95% of its funding, or $70 million, has come from municipal revenue bonds.
The District contracts with GWI Vermont, LLC, a subsidiary of Great Works Internet of Maine, which operates ISPs in a number of Maine municipalities, to design, build, and operate the business. The District has no employees; its board members and officers serve without compensation.
ECFiber serves nearly 9,000 residential and business customers on over 1,700 miles of network that makes Gigabit Internet available to over 22,000 residential locations. It is presently extending its network in Fairlee, West Fairlee, Bradford, and Newbury, with work in Topsham, Corinth, Washington, and Windsor to begin later this year.
When all 31 towns are completed, over 30,000 residences and 3,000 businesses will be able to obtain 1 Gigabit per second upload and download speeds, the very definition of what constitutes world-class broadband. About half of the new work is being supported by grants from the Vermont Community Broadband Fund.
Because ECFiber will have already brought broadband to over 20,000 locations that would otherwise be eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding, it will not be able to obtain grants from that program.
Source: 4.30.2024. South Royalton VT: East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (dba ECFiber)
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