CBS19: Spanberger announces broadband project for Central Virginia

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — Seventh District U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger announced a $28 million project that will bring high-speed broadband Internet infrastructure projects to 13 counties in Central Virginia. 

Some of the counties include Albemarle, Orange, Louisa, Buckingham and Goochland. It will also impact Amherst, Appomattox, Campbell, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Greene, Prince Edward and Powhatan counties.

The project will be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect program and the funding will be provided to the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative through loan and grant combinations and distributed across its service area.

CVEC will construct a fiber-to-the-premises network that will be 704 square miles. 

The service area is expected to reach 17,023 households, 35 pre-subscribed businesses, 20 pre-subscribed farms, 15 educational facilities, 15 critical community facilities and six health care centers.

Spanberger said the investment will bridge the digital divide in Central Virginia. 

“That means that there will be a family where the kids will be able to get online and be able to do their homework,” she said. “It means there’s going to be veterans across Central Virginia who will be able to connect to the VA’s telehealth service; it means there’s going to be farmers and producers who are going to be able to use their precision agriculture technologies to the fullest extent that they are usable.

Spanberger said the project is an investment in rural communities and a sign of confidence that the Commonwealth’s rural counties are excellent places to raise a family, start a business, and retire.

The project is expected to take five years and CVEC is looking to get started within the next month.

Hyperlink: https://www.cbs19news.com/story/41833692/spanberger-announces-broadband-project-for-central-virginia