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Vermont’s Community-Based Broadband Solutions Get a Boost from American Rescue Plan
The 2018 Vermont gubernatorial election pitted incumbent Governor Phil Scott (R-VT) against challenger Christine Hallquist (D-VT). Previous to the election, Hallquist spent 12 years as the chief executive of the Vermont Electric Cooperative, an in-state power utility that she helped to bring back from near ruin. Expanding fiber infrastructure and increasing internet access in Vermont formed a centerpiece of her campaign. Governor Scott was reelected, but—demonstrating his moderate, bipartisan approach—appointed Hallquist to be executive director of the newly formed Vermont Community Broadband Board in 2021. He realized that Hallquist was “absolutely the right person” for the job.
With bipartisan leadership, Vermont has set ambitious broadband goals:
CenturyLink ordered to fix poor service in rural Montana
Rural Montana customers of CenturyLink have gone without service for weeks at a time, particularly in Wibaux County, where the corporate descendent of Qwest Corporation also doesn’t provide broadband speeds fast enough to support video streaming.
