Department of Public Service details connectivity gains, urges changes to planning cadence and advisory body

Hunter Thompson, director of telecommunications at the Vermont Department of Public Service, told the Health, Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee that the department’s connectivity division has completed a series of mapping and field‑testing projects and is recommending two policy changes to better match planning to technology timelines.

Thompson said the state’s fiber deployment climbed sharply: “In 2024, we barely broke the 50% mark for homes with fiber in premises. In 2025, we are at 72.6%,” and described the completion of an updated 2.8 power map and a 2024–25 mobile drive test that collected more than 7,000 miles of test data. He said the drive test showed roughly a 7.5% increase in geographic coverage hexes able to make calls compared with 2022, and that 77% of hexes recorded improved data speeds.

The department described practical limits that continue to constrain coverage improvements. Thompson said the Vermont Universal Service Fund’s revenue mechanism changed under Act 145 (2024) to a per‑line charge covering VoIP, postpaid wireless and landline services; because only two funding cycles have occurred, he said the long‑term effects are still uncertain. He also told members that broadband mapping is hampered by provider confidentiality and falling response rates, noting a 42% provider response rate to data requests this cycle and that about 18% of the map relied on prior‑year data due to nonresponse.

On policy, Thompson urged two main changes. First, he recommended extending the statutory cadence for updating the 10‑year telecom plan from every three years to every five years, arguing that the pace of technological change and long deployment timelines make frequent, costly updates less useful. “The first and the most important recommendation is these things to take us a different telecom plan from 3 years to 5 years,” he said. Committee members pressed for clarification; Thompson agreed the plan does not prescribe specific tower siting and that market actors largely drive where applications are filed.

Second, Thompson recommended sunsetting the Telecommunications Advisory Council (TCAT), saying many of its functions have migrated to other agencies and meetings have been infrequent. He reported the council’s chair has repeatedly suggested sunsetting the group.

Committee members raised alternatives for expanding coverage outside market appetite, including financial incentives tied to siting processes. Members also questioned whether smaller “small‑cell” antennas deployed on utility poles could bridge dead zones; Thompson said the technology is viable but deployment depends on carriers’ commercial decisions and agreements with pole owners and hosts.

Thompson described routine technical review work that the division sends to the Public Utility Commission and the department’s public advocacy group: validating site plans and antenna counts, reviewing structural engineering reports and checking propagation maps before the PUC considers Act 248a petitions. He gave an example of town‑level outreach in Shelburne where analysis and vendor engagement clarified whether a corridor needed macro infrastructure rather than only pole‑mounted cells.

Thompson also recounted an example of citizen assistance involving medically connected devices and emergency‑service reliability; staff used drive‑test data to identify which provider had the strongest signal at a residence and discussed VoIP compatibility with monitoring services. He emphasized public engagement at regional conferences and local meetings as a tool for advancing targeted fixes.

The committee paused for a five‑minute break before proceeding to the next presentation. No formal motions or votes were recorded during the testimony.

Next steps: the department will continue recruiting for an open connectivity coordinator role, complete end‑of‑fiscal reviews of the USF mechanism, and the committee may follow up on recommendations about plan cadence and TCAT’s status.