Grants Extending Broadband In Area
Federal funding was approved recently to pay for extending broadband internet service to the remaining unserved remote locations of Virginia, including parts of the Rockbridge area.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Nov. 19 that the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) had signed off on Virginia’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) plan to connect the remaining 133,000 unserved locations in Virginia.
Those unserved locations include 954 addresses in Rockbridge County, 40 in Buena Vista and 22 in Lexington. Internet service providers who have agreed to extend service to these Rockbridge area locations are Amazon Kulper Commercial Services to 354 addresses, SpaceX to 197, Zitel to 401 and Comcast to 64.
“Since the very beginning of our administration, connecting every Virginia home and business to reliable, high-speed internet has been a top priority,” said Youngkin, whose four-year term ends in January. “Virginia continues to be a national leader in broadband expansion and will be one of the first states in the nation to reach universal broadband access.”
The approval, according to a press release from the governor’s office, represents the final step in a years-long effort to ensure re- liable, high-speed internet access across the state. When Youngkin took office in 2022, more than 430,000 locations lacked access to broadband infrastructure.
The BEAD program will distribute $545 million in federal funding to 23 internet service providers (ISPs), who will contribute nearly $430 million in private matching funds.
The projects will use various technologies, including fiber optics, fixed wireless and low earth orbit satellites to reach the remaining unserved homes, businesses and community institutions.
“Virginia’s broadband office has shown real leadership – embracing a mix of technologies while working with private partners to deliver nearly a billion dollars in savings,” said NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth.
Rockbridge County Administrator Spencer Suter noted that this latest round of federal grant funding used a direct application process through the ISPs and did not involve any partnerships with local governments. The Virginia Office of Broadband, under the Department of Housing and Community Development, published mapping showing all known addresses in the state that are either underserved, unserved or not in an awarded grant. The ISPs submitted proposals to serve those addresses.
Suter pointed out that Brightspeed and BARC construction projects that were funded with earlier VATI and USDA Community Connect grant grants are ongoing, extending landline fiber to previously unserved or underserved parts of the county. He said BARC is gearing up for construction in the Collierstown area under a USDA Community Connect grant. He added that BARC has held community meetings at the Lexington Moose Lodge and Ben Salem Ruritan Club, and is also communicating directly with BARC members.
