The 31 Towns comprising East Central Vermont Community Fiber have recognized that the availability of high-speed fiber optic broadband is a necessary condition for their future prosperity, their ability to educate their children, to provide needed social services and to grow and maintain vibrant local economies. The Towns that banded together to pursue this initiative have in the past attempted to
persuade incumbent providers to extend service in their communities. While there has been some build-out of true broadband service in a few of the participating towns, these efforts have, in the view of the Towns, been grossly inadequate. (In Vermont it is estimated that over 10% of households have a business in the home). In 2008 ECF's initial financing effort was thwarted by the freezing of the capital markets in the wake of the Lehman Bros. ECF then proceeded to apply for financing under two rounds of the Recovery Act Broadband Stimulus Program administered by the Rural Utilities Service, U.S. ECF persisted and subsequently raised over $7M from nearly 500 local investors (mostly subscribers to the system) whom were all repaid in 2016 and 2017. 2100 miles of network will be required to provide universal service throughout its 31 towns. Since 2016 ECFiber has raised $54M from institutional investors and plans to complete construction in all 32 towns by 2023.
