VTel's WOW RUS Application Summary       VTel's WOW RUS Grant Information       Proposed 4G/LTE Service Area Map

Wireless Open World (WOW) is working to bring 4G/LTE wireless broadband to every un-served home and business in rural Vermont. Our primary and immediate focus is Vermont’s un-served areas. We are fortunate to be a recipient of U.S. Rural Broadband Stimulus funding,  and we are combining this with our own capital to implement our longstanding VTel mission: World Class Technology with Down Home Service.

WOW will also extend Gigabit Internet of 1,000,000,000 bps over active fiber to every existing VTel customer in fourteen telephone exchanges in Vermont.  If your phone number begins with any of the following numbers, you are almost certainly living in an area where this high speed fiber will soon be available. By contract with the federal government, all of WOW must be built by late 2013:

 

 

WOW will also organize hundreds of Rural Broadband Farm Forums, patterned on the Rural Radio Farm Forum used successfully in rural America in the 1940’s to help create jobs, and share community ideas.

VTel’s community broadband staff will facilitate these community forums throughout Vermont over the next three years to discuss how broadband can improve the quality of rural life in Vermont communities.  We will work with community groups to utilize and optimize broadband.

When will service in my area be available?

The WOW project will be rolled out over a three-year period beginning in late 2010, and is estimated to be complete in late 2013. We are working diligently to develop a detailed timeline that will show, area-by-area, the estimated completion dates.

The earliest that any sites have the potential to be brought online is likely summer of 2011.  We will be deploying the network statewide simultaneously.  We will be installing and constructing equipment at tower sites based on individual approvals from local and state regulatory bodies.  VTel values local partnerships with zoning and community groups to help this process move forward as smoothly as possible.  Visit our website regularly for updates.

How do I find out if broadband is available in my town?

Follow the link to our map and you will find the proposed service area.  Please keep in mind that wireless signals will transmit beyond the proposed green areas. However we are optimizing our network design to serve the un-served homes in our state.

Your plans include a three-year completion deadline. I am very skeptical based on what I have seen from other not associated with VTel, who failed to deliver the rural broadband I expected. Why is VTel going to be different?

The problems of several high-profile Vermont telecommunication companies  -- Adelphia Cable, Fairpoint, and Burlington Telecom -- have made it fashionable for Vermonters to gripe about the poor quality of Vermont broadband. Yet Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, Comcast, DirecTV, Level 3, Sovernet, and most independent telephone companies appear to be serving Vermonters well, with more broadband every day. The U.S. Census reported, in Q4/09, that Vermont is 11^th in America in broadband penetration. Akamai’s Q4 2009 State of the Internet report listed Vermont as 4^th fastest in broadband speed. It isn’t true that Vermont has poor broadband. When WOW is complete VTel will have invested about $250 million to improve Vermont broadband, yet this will represent about 5% of total statewide telecommunication investment. WOW is demanding, but not an insurmountable challenge. We are simply offering to serve the 18% of Vermonters who the larger companies have not targeted. We can’t guarantee it will all get done, but we are optimistic, and we try to keep our promises.

Why did VTel choose wireless to serve Vermont? We think wireless is a crummy alternative to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH).

Many global experts believe fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) will soon be by-passed by wireless, and FTTH investment in even the most dense urban markets has already peaked. At VTel we have listened to arguments on both sides, and we aren’t sure of the future. We know FTTH is not economically sustainable in most of rural Vermont, except inside independent Telco territories, and in places where cable TV, telephony, and the FTTH builder are all one integrated company.  Wireless is the either a strong augmentation of a wired network, or a replacement for a wired network, but wireless is likely to grow indefinitely in utility, speed, and mobility. The real question – we think -- is whether FTTH will prove a good investment.

I can't even get cell phone service in my area. How will you bring wireless service to Vermont?

We have received broadband stimulus funding through the Rural Utilities Service that is specifically allocated for broadband internet in un-served areas. The cost for most carriers to reach these low-density areas is very high. The fact that the federal government is absorbing some 70% of the build costs means we can affords to reach out to smaller rural communities.  We do it the same way everyone does it, but with financing that enables us to survive in less dense rural regions.

How much will WOW services cost?

You should be able to try our WOW entry-level wireless broadband for $10/month, our more robust wireless service for $35 a month, and our GigE billion-bits-per-second fiber to the home for $29.95 to $34.95.

You propose low prices for your service now, but what can you guarantee me in the future?

We like to believe we are Vermont’s price leader, and always will be, but we cannot say with certainty where our prices are going in the future. VTel’s telephone rates have never gone up, since we bought this company in 1994. We built our own fiber network from Vermont to New York and Boston in 2000, and slashed wholesale Internet rates in Vermont by 80%. We serve four of the largest universities in the Northeast today because of reliability, service, and lowest cost. We are the only carrier with a VTel Guarantee. Tell us anytime you feel we could have served you better, and get a free month service, no questions asked. We send out 5,000 bills a week, and every customer is invited to use our VTel Guarantee for a free month service once a year, and we get few requests.  Our customers find our rates fair, and our service excellent.

Can I get phone from you too?

Yes you can, over fiber and wireless! We will be offering the latest technology in digital voice over IP. Watch our website for more details, as we begin rolling out service.

Can I get video service from you too?

Yes you can, over fiber and wireless. Huge worldwide growth is occurring in Video over wireless 4G/LTE. We will be keeping careful tract if these trends, to ensure VTel customers have the same streaming video available in major cities.

How can I become involved in WOW's Community Outreach?

If you are a community group or an individual citizen and would like partner with VTel to organize a series of group forums focused on optimizing broadband access to improve quality of life; VTel would like to hear from you.  Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Can I sign up now?

The interest in service has been tremendous. While we cannot yet sign customers up for service we are happy to place your information on our lists of those we should contact when service becomes available. Simply fill out and submit the following form and we will let you know when service is available in your area: