In 2021, Spanberger Helped Secure $79 Million in Funding to Build Broadband Infrastructure & Improve Internet Access for Hundreds of Thousands of Virginians

**CLICK HERE for Photos of the Event**

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger this week joined Firefly Fiber Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) to celebrate expanded internet access in Madison County.

In 2021, Spanberger voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act to deliver $700 million dollars to our Commonwealth to build broadband infrastructure and improve internet access for hundreds of thousands of Virginians. This funding made possible a $79 million grant to Firefly Fiber Broadband and Central Virginia Electric Cooperative. Since then, this funding has been used to expand internet access in rural communities, like Madison. Now, REC and Firefly are partnering to connect more than 5,000 REC customers with broadband internet — achieving a milestone of connecting unserved residents and businesses in Madison County to high-speed fiber broadband. To celebrate the first internet connections in the county, Spanberger joined representatives from Firefly and CVEC, REC, Madison County government, and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development at Early Mountain Vineyards for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Access to broadband internet is not just an issue of convenience — it is an issue of opportunity. Reliable internet access is foundational to connecting our communities, allowing Virginia businesses to succeed in a global, extremely competitive, and increasingly online digital economy. That’s how we keep our Commonwealth strong,” said Spanberger. “As we continue to meet this moment, we must guarantee that none of our neighbors are left out. Because no Virginia student should have to sit in their parents’ cars in the McDonald’s parking lot to do their homework, no senior or Veteran should be denied telehealth services because of a lack of broadband connection, and no farmer or producer should be put at a competitive disadvantage for no fault of their own.”

“As of today, we have plans to serve more than 5,000 locations throughout the county with a commitment to get to every single unserved location in Madison County. Universal service has been our commitment from day one. We are here to serve rural areas. We want to make sure everybody has the same access to the internet. We don’t want to just serve the main road or the high dollar folks, we want to make sure that everybody gets that same opportunity,” said Gary Wood, President & CEO, Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Firefly Fiber Broadband. “These state dollars that were given away came from out of Washington. Congresswoman Spanberger was a supporter of broadband even before the ARPA and before the CARES Act — which are all important — but we first talked when we were going after a USDA ReConnect Grant, and we celebrated in Powhatan and those folks are now connected.”

“Congresswoman Spanberger, it is a delight to see you again today. The several years that I have had the opportunity to work with you, I’ve been so appreciative of your consideration for the people of your district, of Virginia, and for electric co-ops. We’re unique — our needs, the energy issues, the broadband issues, matters of the grid, of security, and everything else — so thank you so much. We’re very excited about your service,” said John Hewa, CEO, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “This project is a win-win-win-win. First, we have members who are getting access to affordable, high-speed broadband. Second, we are strengthening the grid. Third, we are leveraging a lot of federal dollars. And then, lastly, this is absolutely one of the best demonstrations of cooperation among cooperatives and what happens when individuals and organizations and government and the county and everyone leans forward to make something happen.”

“We are excited to see broadband advance in Madison County,” said Jonathon Weakley, County Administrator, Madison County. “With Firefly, I know we’re in good hands. I also want to thank our local officials as well as the federal and state levels for their commitment to lifting up our rural communities. It is so important — from telemedicine to education to commerce — to level that playing field when it comes to broadband.”

“It is no secret that even before the pandemic, there was a need for improved broadband access. But in a world that went digital almost overnight, access to broadband became a necessity of participating in everyday life. Suddenly everything from telehealth to education to e-commerce and telework required internet access, putting into even starker terms the work that needed to be done to lose the digital divide,” said Bill Curtis, Assistant Director, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. “Thankfully, Virginia has been investing in the expansion of last mile broadband networks in unserved and underserved areas. This is a testament to what can happen when multiple parties come together for the common good. This project required government, state government, broadband providers, and other deployment partners to work together in concert to best serve the community. It is a truly remarkable achievement.”

BACKGROUND

Spanberger has long worked to deliver high-speed broadband to Virginia communities. In November 2021, she voted to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — or bipartisan infrastructure law — to expand broadband internet in Virginia. In June 2023, Spanberger announced nearly $1.5 billion in federal funding for Virginia broadband internet projects through the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Broadband Equality, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The package also included legislation that Spanberger led to improve Virginians’ internet speeds and guarantee that new broadband internet networks are built with up-to-date upload and download capabilities.

In March 2021, Spanberger voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, which delivered $700 million to Virginia to build broadband infrastructure and improve internet access for hundreds of thousands of Virginians.

In February 2020, Spanberger announced $28 million in federal funding for high-speed broadband internet infrastructure projects in Central Virginia through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program. In 2019, Spanberger successfully led the fight to protect ReConnect funding from elimination, and in 2020, she worked to strengthen funding for the program in the fiscal year 2021 funding deal signed into law by President Donald Trump.

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