Vermont legislature wants Internet, NOW!

Author: Emma Moros

Cellular phone service and broadband Internet access have never been available to every Vermont citizen, but with the introduction of Vermont House Bill 248 and the work of the Internet for All, NOW! committee, that may be about to change.

Currently, 87 percent of Vermonters have broadband access and 50 percent have access to a cellular signal. The limits of current coverage areas in Vermont result from the fact that it is a rural state and neither broadband nor cellular providers will provide access if they are not guaranteed enough customers to ensure a worthwhile profit.

"Verizon, Comcast and other players in the market for Vermont go to populated areas where they can get a return on their investment," said Vermont House Representative Michael Marcotte. "If there aren't at least fourteen residents per square mile in an area, most providers won't do a buildout."

In Vermont, a state with an extremely low population density, this means that many areas are simply not covered. A lack of coverage is no matter to simply brush aside, according to Mary Evslin, one of the organizers of a non-partisan lobbyist group that promotes universal internet access.

"Today you might be using the internet to send a dorky joke or a Christmas Card, but even in a year, you will be needing more," said Evslin. "The skills of the future are going to demand the Internet as the Erie Canal of your generation and the lifeblood of work in your era."

Evslin works with the Internet for All, NOW! Committee, whose goal is to assure the passage of a bill which gets the state started immediately towards the goals of the e-state-initiative. The group has no political affiliation and its members are "non-partisan, veteran volunteers that are passionate about Vermont," according to Evslin.

The universal cellular and broadband access push is called the "e-state-initiative" and was originally proposed by Governor Douglas. In a speech to the Vermont Legislature describing the initiative, Douglas explained that, "it revolutionizes our telecommunications infrastructure by setting the goal of making Vermont the nation's first 'e-state' where quality data and cellular voice coverage and high-speed broadband are available to any Vermonter anywhere within our borders, at any time by 2010."

The specific bill that Internet for All, NOW! supports is House Bill 248. This bill cuts out the initial cost of building infrastructure necessary for Internet and cellular providers to provide access. It does this by funding the building of cellular and broadband towers through the sale of state bonds. Internet providers can then lease the towers from the state and the state will pay back the investors.

Representative Warren Kitzmiller, one of the representatives who sponsored this bill, explained that with passage of the legislation, "the state will build cellular and broadband towers, which will initially be paid for by bonds. The companies that use the infrastructure will pay for much of the project by leasing the towers and other equipment from the state."

One potential problem with the bill is that it is possible the state might not be able to repay investors should companies choose not to lease the towers. Kitzmiller however, did not believe this would pose a serious problem.

"When the state of Vermont issues bonds, they are bought by investors all over the country and all over the world," said Kitzmiller. "People trust Vermont bonds. They have a high credit rating and reputation around the world."

The fate of House Bill 248 is still far from certain. It has passed the Vermont House, but not the Senate. Given that the Senate will soon no longer be in session, Bill 248 may not pass during this term. According to Evslin, this is the worst-case scenario.

"We don't want the government to put this off into a study group," she said. "The goal is to have everybody in the state to have access by 2010," she said.

Should the bill pass, Vermont could become the first state in the country to offer universal cellular and broadband access.