Eleven Virginia localities, the closest in Tazewell County and surrounding areas, received grant funds aimed at expanding high-speed internet access.
The funding, $29.6 million provided through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative and announced Tuesday by Gov. Ralph Northam, supports five projects that will connect more than 11,700 homes, businesses and other sites to broadband service. The grant money leverages more than $34 million in private and local investments.
The Virginia Telecommunications Initiative is administered by the state Department of Housing and Community Development and provides financial help to underserved areas. The governor in the last budget added $50 million to the initiative’s funding. His proposed budget tacks on an additional $15 million.
“Now more than ever, we must ensure that Virginians in every part of our Commonwealth have access to reliable, high-speed internet,”said Gov. Northam. “With these grants, we will help bridge the digital divide in unserved communities and provide thousands of households and businesses with the connections they need to work, learn, and thrive.”
“Since day one of the Northam Administration, broadband expansion has been a key priority to connect our unserved Virginians,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. “These grants will connect more than 11,000 households, businesses and community anchors to high-speed internet, allowing them important opportunities in education, work, and healthcare.”
Projects were selected through a competitive process that evaluated each project for demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed project. The level of funding awarded is based on the infrastructure needs in the project area.
In this application year, VATI received 45 applications from 53 units of local government that partnered with 26 internet service providers, requesting more than $105 million in funding. The five projects announced today are the first round of high-ranked projects. These projects are either unaffected by the recently announced Federal Communications Commission’s Phase I of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) preliminary awards or have already been re-scoped by the applicant to remove overlap with RDOF funded areas. A second round of awards of the remaining high-ranked projects, including those that have been re-scoped and re-evaluated due to the impact of RDOF will be announced utilizing the remaining available funds in the coming months.
The Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission, partnering with Point Broadband, received $16.3 million to build 1,312 miles of fiber serving Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell counties, providing access to 8,335 sites, including 82 businesses.
The other Southwest Virginia project was $1.2 million to the Lenowisco Planning District Commission and Scott County Telephone Cooperative. That partnership will lay 73 miles of fiber at gigabit speeds in to 679 sites in Lee County.
Botetourt County, partnering with Lumos, received $1.4 million. Mecklenburg County and EMPOWER Broadband received $449,381, and Northern Neck Planning Distrit Commission and All Points Broadband netted $10.3 million.
