The Project

To address this significant need for telecommunication infrastructure, Northern Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit, 501(c)3 has designed and will install a fiber optic network with a minimum of 144 fiber optic strands.  The project will consist of the construction of a telecommunication backbone for lease by ISPs and will not be a last-mile provider.  The 400-mile network will utilize existing fiber where available and financially feasible for the six-county (Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orleans), District of the Economic Development Council of Northern Vermont, Inc. (EDCNV), plus parts of Chittenden and Washington counties.  The design of the infrastructure will provide reliable service by utilizing a ring-style architecture that will limit the use of lateral spurs off the ring to 15% of the total network.  This state-of-the-art fiber optic network will support open access for leasing to end users, i.e. ISPs.  This Open Access Network provides a backbone for use by ISPs, allowing them to purchase low-cost access for marketing and building customer base without the high cost of infrastructure.  This further enables ISPs to offer their services to the end-user at a lower cost and customers will benefit from competition among the ISPs.   North-Link will offer the ISPs high technology and a cost-effective transport for high-revenue last-mile marketing and servicing. 

The project will address the critical redundancy issues by connecting to three points outside State boundaries and joining directly to the fiber that rings Montreal, Quebec.