The goal of universal broadband coverage across Virginia may be becoming a reality soon.
Virginia is getting a huge infusion of cash from Uncle Sam to help expand broadband coverage to underserved parts of the state -- especially areas where speeds are less than 25 megabits per second. Thanks to a program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, Virginia is getting $1.5 billion for broadband expansion.
"At the end of the day, what this means is if by 2025, we don't have 98% of all Virginians with high-speed, affordable broadband, it'll be a failure of execution, not a failure of resources," says Senator Mark Warner.
Lauren Mathena at Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation says the money will help fill in the last mile of infrastructure.
"Now, hopefully finally the folks who have been wondering why fiber can be really close to their homes but not get to them in more of the central parts of Virginia hopefully will see that last mile get to them with this funding," Mathena says.
Virginia received one of the top dollar amounts from a $42 billion program known as the Broadband Equity, Accessibility and Deployment program — funding that all of the Republicans in Virginia's congressional delegation voted against.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
