Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General Questions:
Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared or visible light through an optical fiber.
- A Vermont CUD, or Communications Union District, is a unique kind of Vermont municipality governed by a board of delegates, each appointed by the member towns’ selectboards. The job of a CUD is to facilitate the development of community-owned Internet services. Ours is called CVFiber and it comprises 20 communities in Central Vermont.
- CVFiber’s sole aim is to help residents and organizations of the district gain access to fast, reliable Internet service with a goal of a minimum 100/100 Mbps (symmetrical) service. Our focus is on providing that access to members of the community who lack good options and service today.
- The State of Vermont enacted the legislation that enables CUDs with the goal of ensuring that underserved broadband areas could get access to high-speed internet. The commercial providers in our region long ago determined they could not get a return on investing in rural areas. Vermont has made a significant initial investment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help build this municipally owned infrastructure. There is additional funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that will further help further construct our network.
Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Marshfield, Middlesex, Montpelier, Moretown, Northfield, Orange, Plainfield, Roxbury, Washington, Waterbury, Williamstown, Woodbury, Worcester. Because Consolidated Communications has existing fiber service in Barre, Montpelier and parts of the neighboring towns, we will not be building in these locations in the short-term. Providing service at a later date may be possible.
No. Our operating and construction expenses will be funded through grants and monthly service fees paid by subscribers, and there may be other funding vehicles, but your taxes will not fund the network.
Public or community ownership means that the public has some measure of self-determination over the network. Much as the water department is accountable to the public and therefore does not raise water rates unreasonably, those running the network are accountable to the public.
CVFiber is a nonprofit municipal district. Cities or towns in the district are not liable for debt and are not responsible for maintaining the infrastructure. CVFiber might own the infrastructure outright or partner with other organizations to do so
Yes! Just to the south of us, another CUD—called ECFiber—already provides extremely high-speed Internet service to 24 member towns.
The basic monthly costs for residential services can be found here. More information is available for the Affordable Connectivity Program and Installment Payment Plans.
Installation costs will be determined by the nature of your residence and property. In short, when service is available at your address and we receive your subscription request, we will do an initial survey of your property to determine how you will be connected to the service, that is, whether fiber will be strung from the pole to your house, which is also known as an aerial or standard drop, or whether the fiber will need to be buried in conduit. Once the fiber has been run from the nearest fiber hub pole to the box on the side of your home or business, we will call you to schedule installation of the equipment inside your home or business.
CVFiber will make a standard aerial drop of up to 400 feet from the nearest fiber hub pole to the box on the outside of your house or business and install a standard WiFi router inside your premises at the then current installation rate, currently $99. If you have an aerial drop that exceeds 400 feet or the drop is underground and longer than 400 feet, an additional fee will apply, currently $1/foot. The customer is responsible for making arrangements for and the cost of burying conduit. Further specifications regarding underground conduits can be found here.
Fiber networks are nearly future proof. The speeds capable via fiber networks are still increasing with new electrical and optical technologies. The attached equipment may evolve, but the fiber itself has a life measured in decades. Though other technologies may come along, fiber networks will always be extremely fast and uniquely reliable.
Most telecom and cable companies have some fiber as parts of their network, but they do not typically connect residential customers to the network with fiber. So while other providers may run fiber to your neighborhood, they typically connect the last mile with slower copper wires that create a bottleneck, resulting in slower speeds that leave us less competitive in a world increasingly requiring faster speeds. Non fiber-to-the-premises networks cannot offer the same experience or guarantee the same high level of service that a true community fiber network offers.
Symmetric connections mean they have the same download speeds as upload speeds. This means that you can send a file to someone else just as fast as you could get it from them. Asymmetric connections tend to offer much slower upload speeds, which can slow usage of the modern Internet to a crawl and negatively impact activities like video calls, gaming, telehealth, and business data needs. Very slow upload speeds can negatively impact download speeds. Both cable and DSL networks are not symmetrical by design.
Symmetrical high-speed internet connectivity refers to internet service that provides equal upload and download speeds, meaning you can both send and receive data at the same high speed. This type of connectivity is becoming increasingly important for many reasons, including:
Improved productivity: With symmetrical high-speed internet, you can upload and download large files quickly and efficiently, making it easier to work remotely or collaborate with others.
Enhanced online experiences: With high-speed upload and download speeds, you can enjoy streaming video, online gaming, and video conferencing without lag or buffering.
Reliable connection: A symmetrical connection is more reliable than an asymmetrical one, where the upload speed is much slower than the download speed. This can result in a poor online experience, especially when uploading large files or participating in real-time activities like video conferencing.
Better for businesses: For businesses, symmetrical high-speed internet is essential for data backup, cloud computing, and hosting websites and email servers. It allows for real-time collaboration and remote work.
Increased satisfaction: With symmetrical high-speed internet, you can enjoy a better overall online experience, which can lead to increased satisfaction and a higher quality of life.
In conclusion, symmetrical high-speed internet connectivity is becoming increasingly important for individuals and businesses alike, offering benefits such as improved productivity, enhanced online experiences, reliable connections, better support for businesses, and increased satisfaction.
Yes. We will never block or throttle traffic or sell your user data.
Many contractors are needed to build our community-owned broadband network, over the course of months and years. This is for the make-ready process, engineering and related tasks. See more detail here: https://cvfiber.net/building-broadband/
Yes. BUT BEFORE INSTALLATION OF CONDUIT, YOU MUST CONTACT WAITSFIELD CHAMPLAIN VALLEY TELECOM THROUGH CVFIBER FOR A SITE ASSESSMENT AT 802-583-4628.
DIGSAFE MUST BE CONTACTED AT 811 BEFORE ANY DIGGING IS DONE ON YOUR PROPERTY. IN ADDITION, A LOCATOR MAY BE NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY ANY UNDERGROUND UTILITIES INCLUDING ELECTRIC AND PROPANE. IT MAY BE DANGEROUS TO DIG.
See Specifications for Customer-Installed or Provided Underground Conduit to Premises for more information on doing it yourself or see to the list of contractors who provide fiber option conduit installation.
We can’t be sure, but we estimate 30 – 50 years.
- Enter your Service Address at the top of this page to see if CVFiber is available at your location.
- Choose a subscription package that best meets your Internet needs.
- Add optional items such as phone service or batteries.
- Agree to the Terms of Service.
- Our technician will do a site visit to determine what it will take to get our fiber to your house or business.
- WCVT (Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom) will schedule a time to install an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) on the side of your house and a WiFi Router inside your home.
- Optional assessment will be made for providing WiFi throughout your house.
Service Questions:
It is difficult to predict when connections will go live in any specific neighborhood. The CVFiber service areas, and Vermont in general, provide challenging terrain, with long distances to cover through rural areas. Whereas 1,000 feet of fiber in an urban environment might provide service to dozens of residences, homes in many of our towns will require extended runs through woods and over rugged landscape – 1,000 feet of fiber might service only one address. The timing is also dependent on both the weather and obtaining funding for construction – the cost of materials and labor to hang the fiber, an effort that is ongoing and somewhat town specific.
Our overall goal is to hang 1,200 miles of fiber in our broader service area. About 50 miles are already up, and we hope to proceed at roughly 10 miles per week. Construction is currently underway in portions of Calais, with parts of Middlesex hopefully to follow this year. These are among the most poorly serviced areas currently.
The easiest way to know when service will be available to you is to register your address in the “Check Availability” area at the top of the page. Check out the map on our website to see the status of service in your area! We thank you for your interest in CVFiber and look forward to servicing your internet needs. Please trust that we are doing everything we can to move as rapidly as possible.
Affordable Connectivity Program and Installment Payment Plans are available. The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households.
Click here to learn about benefits, qualifications, and steps to apply.
If you are in our current service area, we can connect you more easily if you already have an aerial drop (connection) for your existing services with a line from the nearest fiber-connected utility pole to your premises of 400 feet or less. Connection will usually occur within a few weeks following sign-up after service is available in your area. If you require an underground connection, or if you have a drop longer than 400 feet, either underground or aerial, this process will take longer.
No. If your power is aerial, your fiber will also be aerial. If a buried service is required due to the locality or another reason, the customer will be responsible for the buried conduit.
A Non-standard connection is when the distance from your premises to the CVFiber lines is over 400 feet. There is a charge of $1 per foot for additional footage aerial or underground, after 400 feet. Most served locations will be aerial. If buried service is necessary, you may hire a contractor to bury your conduit, and CVFiber has local contractors listed on its website; you are encouraged to talk to more than one contractor. See more detail here: https://cvfiber.net/conduit-specs/
It is CVFiber’s goal to serve every underserved address (defined by the state as any wired location with less than 25Mbps/3Mbps service) within its member towns. The first part of our buildout is to on-grid customers of Washington Electric Co-op, Green Mountain Power, and Hardwick Electric. Robust power is needed for Internet, however off-grid power sources may be enough, depending on the configuration. However, building to off-grid locations will come at a later part of the scheduled build.
Seasonal subscribers may request a pause in their service for a specified period and the monthly fee will not be charged for that period. Equipment may remain in the home. There will be a reconnect fee upon recommencement of the service.
What level of service is right for you depends on how you will use the Internet – see our Services page for links to more information on both commercial and residential options.
CVFiber will need to place a new device called an optical network terminal (“ONT”) on the outside of your home or business. This may or may not be where the old connection was, depending upon several factors. We will install indoor devices, such as a router, connected to the ONT and a separate power source will also need to be placed inside your home or business. If you want additional WiFi extenders or would like a WiFi mesh system, we will install at cost. A visit will be required to assess any special requirements for your location.
Our installation technician will perform a basic configuration of the router to get you up and going. The technician will ensure that a wireless device (such as a laptop or smartphone) can connect to the wireless router and get Internet.
The modems will likely have the same power levels, 2.4GHz and 5GHz, however the CVFiber modem will be the newest technology and the technicians will work to best optimize the WiFi signal in your home. They will measure and make recommendations for various areas where you may need a bigger device or more extenders. THEY WON’T LEAVE THE HOUSE UNTIL WIFI IS GOOD. That’s what counts.
Yes.
The potential speed of Starlink is lower than fiber because data must be transmitted from your house, to a satellite, and then back down to earth. Due to fiber’s direct cable connection, it tends to be much faster and more reliable than Starlink.
Yes, with a optional battery backup. See Services for more information.
For maintenance. Batteries can potentially go bad and then run out of charge. If you run on battery all the time, with a package, we monitor the battery and replace it before goes bad. If we lose power for two or three days/year, that could make sense to pay for that package.
Yes. You’ll be able to use your phone via the internet. You have to set it up in the settings on your cell phone. This is especially great for areas that do not currently have cell service. Does not require VoIP service.
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. VoIP can allow you to make a call directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to a special adapter.
Ooma provides free home phone service once you purchase a device for a one-time fee. Plug your high-speed Internet and existing home phone into Ooma and call anywhere in the U.S. for free. You pay only applicable taxes and fees.
Payment for non-standard drops, such as long aerial connections, can be added to your monthly bill in 3-to-12-month increments (interest free), depending on the total cost (see table below). You will need to make an arrangement for such installment payments in advance.
Installment Payment Plans
| Amount Range | Number of Monthly Installments | Down Payment (minimum) |
| $0.01 – $299.99 | NONE | NONE |
| $300 – $599.99 | 3 months | NONE |
| $600 – $1,999.99 | 3 months | 25% |
| $1,200 – $2399.99 | 6 months | 25% |
| $2,400 + | 12 months | 25% |