[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 3 (Monday, January 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               VERMONT COMPANY BRIDGES THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today I wish to tell my colleagues in the 
Senate about a family-owned telephone business in Vermont that has once 
again led the industry in customer service and technological advances. 
Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom has successfully delivered 
high-speed broadband Internet service capability by way of Digital 
Subscriber Line, DSL, technology to every single one of its customers 
something most of its competitors have found difficult, if not 
impossible, to do.
  The beautiful rural and mountainous landscape that makes Vermont such 
a wonderful place to live has proven to be a stubborn barrier in 
delivering broadband access to every Vermonter. Moreover, as one of the 
country's most rural States, Vermont struggles to implement large 
broadband infrastructure investments that reach relatively small 
population densities. Yet in the Mad River Valley--where Mother Nature 
has deposited plenty of these beautiful yet stubborn barriers and 
people settled where they wanted to and not where the roads told them 
to--Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom found a way to ensure that 
their customers have an access ramp to the information super highway.
  By making this significant investment in their own network, 
Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom has invested in the economic 
vitality of every household it serves. Broadband access is a necessity 
for the company looking to move to Vermont, for the student writing a 
research paper, or for the family doing research on an upcoming 
vacation. So much of our country's economy depends upon high-speed 
Internet access, and making this access available to every American 
will require more companies willing to follow the lead of Vermont's own 
Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom.
  Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom is a growing company, but it 
remains independently owned and operated by the Haskin family, under 
the leadership of Gregg Haskin. My wife Marcelle and I are proud to 
call the Haskins close friends, and we are even prouder of the deep 
commitment they have to their community. We wish them continued 
success, and I hope that my friends in the Senate will take this story 
back to their home States and point to this company's model as a key 
factor toward bridging the digital divide.

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