Virginia

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced nearly $173 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in the Dakotas and eight other states to reliable high-speed internet. Projects are being financed by the fifth round of the ReConnect Program.

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) sees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program as Virginia’s opportunity to finish the job of extending broadband access and also make long-term, transformational investments into broadband affordability and adoption. With the $1.48 billion in BEAD funds for Virginia, DHCD is finalizing plans to extend broadband infrastructure to the remaining unserved locations without a funded solution for connectivity and designing programs to meaningfully address broadband affordability and adoption.

Earlier in 2024, the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) sent letters to 22 projects that it believes are at some risk of blowing a key deadline. That’s nearly two-thirds of the 36 projects that Virginia funded in the 2022 fiscal year. Officials say they are confident they will be finished well before the end of 2026.

Richmond (VA) City Council recently adopted a resolution to declare high-speed internet a public necessity for all Richmond residents. Approximately 9.7 percent of Richmond residents do not have

President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure law promised to help Virginia expand broadband internet to hard-to-reach corners of the commonwealth—investing nearly $1.5 billion to improve a key service across a swing state crucial to Democrats’ hopes in the November election. The program, known officially as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (or BEAD) and embedded in Biden’s mammoth infrastructure law, was meant to bring a vital service to communities across America.

A Virginia law streamlining broadband deployment across railroads is in courthouse limbo. The law is in effect, however, and the electric cooperatives it was meant for are using it. Virginia’s electric co-ops have completed work at about 37 crossings since the law went into effect on July 1, 2023, according to the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. The legislation reduced the approval process time and lowered costs to internet service providers needing to cross railroads.

Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) announced more than $41 million in grants through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) for 10 broadband construction projects serving 20 localities throughout Virginia. The VATI program provides targeted funding to extend service to areas that are presently unserved by any broadband provider. The goal of VATI is to create strong, competitive communities throughout the Commonwealth by preparing those communities to build, utilize, and capitalize on telecommunications infrastructure.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved New Mexico and Virginia’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This approval enables New Mexico and Virginia to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.  The action allows states to request:  

UScellular continues network expansion in different parts of its 21 state operating territory, in mostly rural areas. Through a novel master streetlight attachment agreement signed with the Town of Rumford (ME), UScellular has completed its deployment of the Ericsson Street Radio 4402, a small cell platform created in collaboration with Ubicquia. This approach leverages existing streetlight infrastructure to enhance 4G and 5G connectivity at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional small cell solutions.