Vermont CUD Northwest Fiberworx Nabs $20 Million ARPA Infusion
The popular Vermont Communications Union District (CUD) Northwest Fiberworx (NWFX) has received a $20.2 million infusion in state American Rescue Plan Act dollars to extend affordable fiber broadband into long-underserved regions of the Green Mountain State.
The St. Albans-based CUD is a nonprofit special purpose municipality with 22 member towns. Its latest build will connect 3,800 unserved and underserved households in Franklin and Grand Isle counties in the Northwest part of the state.
Great Works Internet Vermont (GWI VT) will design the network and manage the operations, though Fiberworx will own the finished build.
“We have a unique model, that of which we will build, own and maintain a fiber-to-the-premise open-access network,” Northwest Fiberworx Network Operations Manager, Mary Kay Raymond said in a statement.
The new $20.2 million grant awarded late last month by the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCCB), was made possible by 2021 federal COVID relief funding courtesy of the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Northwest Fiberworx and their partner Great Works Internet Vermont have found a way to bring service where others would not,” VCBB Deputy Director Rob Fish said of the award.
“They’re building a sustainable network to serve Vermonters for decades to come.”
