VT Broadband Mapping Initiative Project Manager: Steve Sharp

Phone: 802-882-3006 Email:

Summary

Vermont’s Broadband Mapping Initiative is a collaborative broadband data collection and verification effort involving partners from the public, private and academic sectors participating as the Vermont Broadband Mapping Team.

The Vermont Broadband Mapping Team will initiate the creation and development of a comprehensive and verified geographic inventory of broadband service availability in the State of Vermont. Landline and wireless services (fixed and mobile) will be mapped, including wireless voice and data with information from the providers and other sources. The broadband mapping information collected and verified through this effort will then support the broadband development objectives identified in the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) in Vermont. Most importantly, the geographic inventory will further refine our understanding of the location of “unserved” and “underserved” areas in the state, thereby supporting targeted future investments in these areas.

To accomplish these critically important goals we proposed that the Vermont Department of Public Service, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont, Vermont’s Enhanced 9-1-1 Board and the Vermont Center for Geographic Information come together as partners to create a Vermont Broadband Mapping Team. The Mapping Team members will combine their subject area expertise to create as thorough and defensible a geospatial representation of the state’s broadband resources as possible. The primary members of the Vermont Broadband Mapping Team were selected to provide the following expertise;

• Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI) will provide geospatial data collection, aggregation, web mapping expertise and act as Prime Contractor for the grant,

• Vermont Department of Public Service (DPS) will provide telecommunications, regulatory and data verification expertise,

• Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) will provide knowledge of current and future telecommunications infrastructure in the state,

• Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont (CRS) will provide verification of provider coverage data by survey and an understanding of telecommunications needs in a rural context.

• Vermont’s Enhanced 9-1-1 Board (E911) is the provider of the statewide E911 address information that will be the foundation for the Mapping Team’s address level mapping.

The data collection, verification and mapping will be a true partnership, as each organization plays a singular and critical role in consistently providing a quality data product, on time, and for the full duration of the project. Project partners from other areas of the telecommunications community are also included as part of the project plan. The additional partners are;

• VT Council on Rural Development

• Telecommunications Companies (cable, phone, wireless, etc.)

• Private Sector, data collection or verification sub-contractors

The Vermont Broadband Mapping Team is composed of geospatial and telecommunications professionals with organizational missions intended to serve the public good. The Mapping Team is also composed of organizations that have worked together on various mapping related projects for many years. This combined experience will help the Team meet the demanding requirements of NTIA’s Broadband Data and Development Grant Program.