CVFiber, NEK Broadband look to merge this summer

June 7, 2024  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

Officials with CVFiber and NEK Broadband communications union districts have announced plans to merge the two entities this summer. 

New state legislation adopted this past session makes the move attractive for the districts to continue their rollout of expanding high-speed internet service in their respective regions. 

“The proposed merger would unite resources, experience, expertise, and a shared commitment to deliver exceptional high-speed internet services to their collective 71 communities,” their announcement states, as they seek to expand “digital equity, economic growth, and community development across the Northeast Kingdom and Central Vermont.”

The move should enable the new organization – to be called Northeast Central Broadband – to maximize its combined investments and find efficiencies as it moves ahead with its buildout, they said. 

“This will significantly add to the ongoing capacity to fulfill the combined mission to ensure that every resident and business has access to reliable high-speed internet,” the announcement states. 

The merger could also be beneficial in applying for grant funding, they noted, given that applications often benefit from a larger service area.

Both districts have shared copies of the merger plan with their member municipalities’ governing boards as of June 1. Each district will hold a public hearing on the proposal on July 16. Details of those hearings will be shared with their municipalities. Boards for both CVFIber and NEK Broadband will hold votes on the final merger plan on Aug. 15, according to the announcement. 

CVFiber is comprised of 20 Central Vermont communities and partners with Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom to operate its network. Its member municipalities are Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Middlesex, Marshfield, Montpelier, Moretown, Northfield, Orange, Plainfield, Roxbury, Washington, Waterbury, Williamstown, Woodbury and Worcester. NEK Broadband includes every town in Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, plus Wolcott in Lamoille County. More information about the merger plan is online at cvfiber.net/preliminary-merger-plan.