VATI awards $41M in broadband grants to localities

The Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, which funds broadband extension to unserved areas, will provide more than $41 million in grants to 10 broadband construction projects that will serve Virginians in 20 localities, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. 

“Virginia continues to be a national leader for closing the digital divide, and today’s announcement brings us one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to reach statewide universal broadband coverage,” Youngkin said in a news release. 

This year’s funding leverages more than $75.7 million in additional funding from local governments and internet service providers, according to the governor’s office. 

The Thomas Jefferson Planning Commission District in Central Virginia and Firefly Fiber Broadband, a subsidiary of the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, received the largest award, $12.2 million. 

That funding will go toward a $48.6 million project that will cover 603 miles and provide broadband to 6,000 unserved locations in the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison and Powhatan. Those counties will have universal broadband when the project is completed, according to Melissa Gay, vice president for communications and member services for Firefly Fiber Broadband. 

Other recipients include the following localities:

• Spotsylvania County, $10.3 million
• Franklin County, $4.5 million
• Giles County, $4.2 million
• Southside Planning District Commission, $3.4 million
• Alleghany County, $2.3 million
• Orange County, $2.1 million
• Rockbridge County, two awards of $1.2 million and $975,865
• Botetourt County, $395,411

In addition to state funding, Alleghany County will contribute $353,193 and the Craig-Botetourt Rural Electric Cooperative will pitch in $666,387 to the project, which is expected to cover 370 homes and businesses. Upon completion, Alleghany will have universal broadband, according to Reid Walters, county administrator. 

The state Department of Housing and Community Development administers the VATI program. The broadband projects selected went through a competitive process that considered demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed project. 

For this round of funding, DHCD received 25 applications requesting more than $170 million. Virginia has invested more than $850.3 million to connect over 338,000 homes, businesses and community sites since 2017, and the federal Broadband Equity, Accessibility and Deployment (BEAD) program granted the state $1.4 billion to help expand internet access in June 2023. A statewide plan aims to deliver broadband to an estimated 162,000 unserved locations in Virginia by the end of 2026.