Municipal Win for FirstLight - Town of Bennington, VT Selects FirstLight's Fiber Optic Internet

The Town of Bennington, Vermont, has selected FirstLight to provide fiber optic Internet connectivity to the town office and its various satellite offices, as well as provide a managed firewall solution.

The fourth largest town of Vermont, Bennington is well known for the Battle of Bennington, which took place during the Revolutionary War. For municipal staff, however, today’s battles are often those waged against the lack of time and limited budgets. Supporting the constant requests from constituents for building permits, zoning codes, tax records, and other critical documents requires municipal employees to work efficiently and often on line to compile data, share scanned documents, and work interdepartmentally.

More than ever, municipal leaders also need to be able to interact with the public 24/7 and have turned to fiber connectivity to disseminate and manage important community information concerning traffic updates, storm issues, emergencies, and school closings. They also have to safeguard against cyber-attacks, security breaches, and computer viruses that could hinder their communication with residents.

“An important aspect of this project is the increased security and interconnectivity it provides to our entire system and facilities, along with redundant back up,” explained Town Manager Stuart A. Hurd. “Bennington, Vermont is a town of 15,700 people located at the base of the Green Mountains. While we are rural in nature, we need the highest level of interconnectivity and, certainly, in today’s world, the highest level of security this system provides.”

“Municipal leaders need to be able to interact with the public quickly and efficiently, and ensure information is secure,” explained Kurt Van Wagenen, FirstLight President and CEO. “In addition, they need to share information seamlessly among members of various departments. Our fiber connectivity and firewall solutions allow municipalities to ensure they have the bandwidth and the high degree of security they need to serve their residents well.”

Read the full release here.