Burlington Telecom Fact Sheet

Authors
Christopher Mitchell
Date
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Much misinformation has been disseminated about Burlington Telecom (BT). Here are the facts. BT is a city department of Burlington, Vermont, which owns a fiber-to-the-home network and offers triple play services (phone, cable, internet). The network depends entirely on subscriber revenues and is not subsidized in any form by the City. BT has saved the City money while being built entirely with investor money -- no tax dollars have been or will be used. BT continues to add subscribers and has a take rate above 40% in the area it first began offering services. Update: BT has encountered some serious problems following some questionable activities by the Mayor's Administration. I have covered some of the BT developments here.

ILSR issued a report in 2011 that updates this case study: Learning from Burlington Telecom: Some Lessons for Community Networks