Making new connections

Since December, ECFiber had been looking for ways to further reduce the cost of its internet services in east-central Vermont to help those most in need.
Chris Recchia, managing director of ValleyNet, a nonprofit company which builds and operates ECFiber’s fiber-to-home network, said not everyone can pay the $72 per month for their basic internet package.
“We know there are people who have not taken the service because they just can’t afford it,” he said, adding that grants and other funding were being explored to help.
But when COVID-19 hit, internet affordability issues loomed large, especially for families with local students who didn’t have internet at home. As a result, ECFiber announced that, until further notice, ValleyNet will install internet to any serviceable address at no cost to families whose school-age children are eligible for WIC or Reduced/Free Lunch programs at school. Within this new program, internet service will also be provided at no cost through the end of June.
“Many of us have long been concerned about affordability, especially as a barrier to fully realizing the educational benefits of ubiquitous broadband. Obviously, school closures have made that problem even more urgent,” said Irv Thomae, chair of the ECFiber Governing Board in the March announcement.
On Monday, Recchia said about 20 new ECFiber connections have been installed as a result of the offer, and gratitude has been pouring in from the families served. People have also stepped up to donate to the effort.
“We’ve received some offers from people to help financially, because they know we’re just absorbing the cost of this right now, which is just lovely,” Recchia said.
More households have signed up under the free offer, he added, but ValleyNet is considering how to address a few places which would require underground conduits for service.
Also, after the pandemic hit Vermont, the company made a series of changes in order to continue serving its customers and bringing on new ones. Of its 22 staff members, ValleyNet has three working in its main office, and the rest are either working from home or out in the field. Installers now use gloves, masks and sanitary equipment while working out in the field. Customers requesting an installation are asked if they’ve recently travelled outside the state or the U.S. - if they have, the appointment is scheduled two weeks out. A day before the installation, customer service checks in with them to make sure everyone has been healthy.
“My team has been absolutely terrific,” Recchia said. “They’ve been amazing troopers.”
Looking at the broader picture, he said the disparity the pandemic has exposed in access to internet service shows how critical it is to address the matter.
“It really shows that this is an essential service,” he said.
Recchia, formerly the commissioner of the Vermont Public Service Department, was hopeful that, eventually, changes would be made at the federal level that would help make high-speed internet more accessible to all Vermonters.
The issues with that access have been clear for years, and the pandemic has shone a light on those gaps. Fortunately, ECFiber and ValleyNet have recently been able to help those most in need. It’s inspiring to think of the potential future innovations which could occur, between a locally-based provider, school districts and other partners, to best serve local communities. In that light, it’s a hopeful note that more communications union districts, like ECFiber which serves east-central Vermont, have been formed in recent years, the latest one being in the long-underserved Northeast Kingdom. ECFiber and ValleyNet have demonstrated that success is possible in bringing high-speed fiber-optic networks to rural areas, while working to provide access for everyone. Funding is often the main difficulty, and progress can be slow-going. But when communities band together around a common cause, big goals can be accomplished. With all the momentum toward innovative learning, the connectivity space seems poised to help spur that positive change.

— Gareth Henderson