Burlington Free Press

Vermont officials suspected cellphone coverage maps were too good to be true. They were right.

Cell carriers claim that you should be able to stream online video on your cellphone almost anywhere in Vermont. But in some places in the state, it's not even possible to make a phone call. 

VT Democratic Gov Candidate Hallquist's plan to bring fiber-optic cable to VT: How would it work?

If Christine Hallquist is elected governor of Vermont, her plan is to pass legislation that would require electric utilities to hang fiber-optic cable in their service areas. The power companies could make money by leasing the fiber to internet service providers. Utilities would not be allowed to compete with traditional telecommunication companies by selling internet service directly to customers. "When I talk about doing fiber, I'm not saying that the electric companies are going to provide the services, because that would be unfair," Hallquist said.

Eliminated Burlington Telecom bidders back in as partners

ZRF Partners founder Faisal Nisar and Schurz Communications CEO Todd Schurz submitted a joint proposal to Burlington (VT), offering $25 million for Burlington Telecom. The proposal also detailed a plan to grow Burlington Telecom and make Burlington a "hot bed for tech entrepreneurs and startups in New England." The joint proposal came about through Gary Evans, an adviser to Nisar and the retired CEO of Hiawatha Broadband Communications, which Schurz bought in Oct 2017. Evans connected Nisar and Schurz, Schurz said, and the two men spoke for "hours" about their vision.