Amy Friedenberger
Pandemic highlighted urgency to get Virginians broadband, and the General Assembly is investing
The Virginia General Assembly has spent more than $130 million to tackle the digital divide, and lawmakers are considering a few measures to get more people connected, including another big investment to help telecommunication companies and municipal broadband authorities build internet infrastructure across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates and Senate both want to put $50 million into the budget for the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, one of the primary mechanisms the commonwealth uses to reach areas where there is no broadband.
Virginia is working on getting people internet access, but that plan doesn’t include affordability
About 600,000 Virginians, mostly in Southwest, Southside and the Tidewater areas, lack access to broadband. Even where some theoretically have access to it, they can’t afford it. And Virginia doesn’t currently have a plan to address affordability. “The affordability problem remains out there, and it’s significant,” Evan Feinman, the governor’s chief broadband adviser, told the Virginia Broadband Advisory Council.