NEK Broadband

The Internet You Need ~ Built by Your Community

Kitty

Customer Restoration Update (PM edition)

We want to provide an update after this morning’s fiber outage. With conduit repaired and new fiber placed, connectivity is expected to be restored this evening to customers connected to our Lyndon and Sutton cabinets.

Throughout the day, we also learned that customers connected to the Waterford cabinet would be impacted due to this emergency repair. Our team is prioritizing repair of these fibers. Connectivity should also be restored this evening for Waterford customers.

If you are still offline after 10pm, please report your outage: (877) 635-3423 or . If sending an email, please include your name and address so we can best assist. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

The NEK Broadband Team

Customer Scheduled Outage Notification 8.15.24

A collapsing barn located at 1691 West Barnet Rd. in Barnet, is posing an immediate risk to our backbone fiber. Our crews are taking immediate action to reroute the fiber because of trees nearby. This will require a hot cut, a process to safely disconnect and reconnect the new route across the street. 

Customers across parts of Barnet, Peacham, Walden, and Danville will be impacted with a service outage scheduled for tomorrow (August 15th) from 8:00 am – noon as crews work to relocate the fiber. We will be sending out an alert when connectivity is restored.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to work through the destructive impacts from recent storms to our region. 

Sincerely, 

The NEK Broadband Team

Customer Restoration Update 8.1.24

We wanted to provide an update on the storm damage in your area. Good news is that our Sutton and Lyndon cabinets are back in service with connectivity now restored for the majority of our customers. Please note that these temporary lines will be replaced in the future causing minor outages at that time.  

Fiber replacement will continue where possible and as needed. The safety of our crews is our top priority. They will continue restoration work as soon as they are permitted back into other areas as roads are repaired, and power is restored.  

The Sheldon Brook Road area in Lyndon requires 10-15 new poles to restore electric service before we can hang new fiber. This could result in lengthy service interruptions for customers located on the following roads:   

  • Red Village Rd, Lyndon
  • Sheldon Brook Rd, Lyndon
  • Simpson Dr, Lyndon
  • Sheldon Brook Rd, Kirby
  • Willey Farm Rd, Kirby
  • Sheldon Meadow Ln, Kirby
  • N. Kirby Rd, Kirby
  • Sugar Hill Rd, Kirby
  • Willoughby View Rd, Kirby
  • Kirby Mountain Rd, Kirby (north end)
  • Brookside Rd, Kirby
  • Town Hall Rd, Kirby

If you are still offline, please report your outage: (877) 635-3423 or . If sending an email, please identify whether you currently have power to your premise. 

We are committed to providing updates to our communities as the situation evolves. 

Sincerely, 

The NEK Broadband Team

NEK Broadband Customer Outage Notification (PM edition)

With some utility poles set, we are in the process of putting in temporary connections through a stretch on Severance Hill Road in Lyndonville. This will help bring light back to the Lyndon and Sutton cabinets to bring service back to the majority of impacted customers.

With the immediate weather condition changing to heavy rain with thunderstorm activity and a high volume of heavy equipment delivering material to the site, restoration progress will continue tomorrow morning. We anticipate that service will be restored for many by around noon tomorrow.

A handful of customers on nearby distribution lines will take a longer period of time to restore as we wait for additional infrastructure to be built back to attach our fiber.

Thank you for your patience.  Please stay safe as we help neighbors help neighbors. 

Sincerely,

The NEK Broadband team

NEK Broadband Customer Outage Notification

We have an outage affecting approximately 125 customers in the Lyndon, Sutton, Wheelock, Kirby, St. J, and Danville areas, as well as small parts of Walden, Burke and Concord that began at 9 am today. Yesterday’s torrential rains devastated the area with homes and roads being washed away and literally into the backbone of our fiber network. Today’s emergency cleanup and excavation work is impacting fiber service. Our crews are working to determine solutions as the infrastructure (poles) itself is no longer in place.

We are diligently working on getting service back up and running as quickly as possible – however the area has suffered major damage and we do not currently know the restoration time. Our website and social media will be updated as progress is made. Potentially impacted customers will also receive email notifications with updates. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

HERE is a link to the area where the fiber has been cut. 

Sincerely,

The NEK Broadband Team

Community-based Broadband Providers Propose Merger to Expand Access to High-speed Internet

June 1, 2024 – NEK Broadband and CVFiber announce a preliminary plan to join the two Communications Union Districts (CUDs) under 30 V.S.A 3052a, a recent addition to the law under S.199. The proposed merger would unite resources, experience, expertise, and a shared commitment to deliver exceptional high-speed internet services to their collective 71 communities. Working together, they will be better able to support digital equity, economic growth, and community development across the Northeast Kingdom and Central Vermont.

Working more collaboratively allows the CUDs to leverage infrastructure investments effectively, accelerate the deployment of proven and reliable technologies, and optimize operational efficiencies. 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. 

Specifically, NEK Broadband and CVFiber propose to work together under the new business name, Northeast Central Broadband. The service plans, customer service, and pricing for both CVFiber and NEK Broadband areas will not change for the foreseeable future. Their respective financial, operations, and communications professionals will share skill sets. An additional benefit will be collaboration for grant applications that often benefit from a larger service area.

During this process, the CUDs are committed to providing transparent communications to keep customers, partners, and communities informed every step of the way. 

Public Comment Period 

  • Copies of the Preliminary Merger Plan (the “Plan”) were distributed to the legislative bodies of NEK Broadband’s and CVFiber’s respective municipalities on June 1st.  Both CUDs will arrange for notice of the July 16th public hearing by distributing such notice to their member municipalities, publicly posting such notice, and publishing notice in local newspapers and other paid media. These notices will be made no later than three days before the public hearing. 
  • NEK Broadband and CVFiber will each hold a public hearing on the Plan. Public hearings will be scheduled by each CUD for July 16, 2024. 

Final Merger Plan Decision

  • NEK Broadband and CVFiber will schedule Governing Board votes on the Final Merger Plan no less than 30 days after the public hearing. Governing Board votes for the Final Merger Plan decision are scheduled by each CUD for August 15, 2024. 

For more information, please visit our website: nekbroadband.org/about-us/public-documents/

Direct inquiries can be sent to:

About NEK Broadband: NEK Broadband is a community-driven organization working to ensure every resident in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has access to high-speed internet. Access to high-speed internet is central to creating greater economic prosperity and educational opportunities for today’s residents and for future generations. NEK Broadband is a Communications Union District (CUD) representing every town in Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, plus Wolcott in Lamoille county. With a commitment to reliability and community development, NEK Broadband strives to make a positive impact on the lives of those we serve. www.nekbroadband.org

About CVFiber: As a community-owned and operated Internet service provider, CVFiber is serving its 20 Central Vermont communities with a unified goal to provide fast, reliable, and world-class Internet to every Vermonter within its member towns.  In partnership with Waitsfield & Champlain Valley Telecom, which operates the network and interacts with its customers, CVFiber is equipped to meet the growing needs of Vermonters as it expands into new district zones. Twenty communities are a part of the CVFiber district: Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Middlesex, Marshfield, Montpelier, Moretown, Northfield, Orange, Plainfield, Roxbury, Washington, Waterbury, Williamstown, Woodbury, and Worcester. Learn more at CVFiber’s website.