Vermont communications union districts outline fiber build progress, funding shortfalls and last‑mile costs

White River Junction, Vt. — Leaders of Vermont's communications union districts (CUDs) told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 9 that fiber buildout across rural parts of the state has accelerated with recent grant funding but remaining unserved addresses and last‑mile costs mean the districts still need additional funding or borrowing to reach universal service.

Krista Schute, executive director of NEK Community Broadband (doing business as NEK Broadband/CV Fiber) told the committee the districts are committed to a state requirement that recipients of construction funds under Act 71 of 2021 produce a universal service plan. “Universal service is not ... a fixed point. It's a moving target,” Schute said, describing the obligation as tied to the set of unserved and underserved addresses at the time of construction funding rather than an unlimited, perpetual obligation to every new build.

The nut of the discussion was funding and sustainability. FX (Francis Xavier) Flynn, chair of EC Fiber, reviewed his organization's grassroots history and financing path, saying EC Fiber raised private promissory notes and later municipal revenue bonds to build rural fiber…