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Department of Public Service details connectivity gains, urges changes to planning cadence and advisory body
Summary
The Department of Public Service told the Health, Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee that Vermont’s fiber reach rose to 72.6% of premises in 2025, the division completed a 2024–25 mobile drive test and recommends moving the 10‑year telecom plan update cadence from three to five years and sunsetting the Telecommunications Advisory Council.
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…
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