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Crews are this month getting to work installing hundreds of miles of fiber optic cable as Loudoun County hits a major milestone in its project to extend broadband internet to all its residents.
In December 2021, the county won more than $17.5 million in Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, or VATI, grant funding from the state for its plans in partnership with All Points Broadband to extend fiber optic internet service throughout the county. With the grant funding secured and the agreement in place, this month All Points Broadband crews are expected to begin work installing the more than 600 miles of middle- and last-mile fiber connections to unserved areas of the county. The project, also in partnership with the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and Dominion, runs fiber optic cable along existing powerline routes.
Loudoun County Assistant Director of Information Technology Dave Friedrich said the project is expected to take 24-30 months to complete, but that residents will start seeing connections before then.
And he said it’s also important for people to sign up at fiber.allpointsbroadband.com—both to get updates from All Points on its progress, as well as find any last spots that the project may miss. So far he said just under 3,000 residents, about a third of eligible residents, have responded on the website, and so far county staff have found less than 20 homes that the All Points Broadband project will miss.
“We knew that the VATI project as meant and intended to cover all unserved residents with a fiber solution today and provide them service. We knew that there were possible pockets of homes that, because of SCC mapping and things of that nature, were not included in the VATI project but yet are still unserved,” he said. “The importance of getting residents registered on All Points Broadband, too, is it helps flush out individuals that we think are served but are not.”
For those who fall through the cracks, he said, there is a new source of help available. He briefed supervisors on the new Line Extension Customer Assistance Program or LECAP Directive, a General Assembly decision to direct $8 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to help offset the cost of extending broadband to unserved homes of low- to moderate-income residents. Homes that will be covered under the VATI program are not eligible for the LECAP program, and income limits apply.
Links to more information about LECAP and to an application are on the county’s broadband expansion webpage, loudoun.gov/5658/Broadband-Expansion. SHARE ONWhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedInGoogle+Pin ItEmailBuffer Related
I lived without Internet connectivity for many years. But now it feels as if I couldn’t survive a day without it. How addictive it’s become. So I have mixed feelings about this news. Yes, it’s great that more Loudouners will have access to the Internet. I just hope they retain their current daily activities as much as possible. It’s not good to spend too much time behind the computer screen. On a brighter note, Happy Fruits & Vegetables Month Loudoun!
“Last mile connectivity” means to the home WITH a cable connection. Is that true or is the last mile really intended to be a wireless shot from the nearest road the cable is built to? What is the MINIMUM level of service that will be provided. I believe current wireless customers get a “up to 10 megs per second service level meaning if you only get one meg and nothing works in your home (neither tv streaming or computer work) it is still not out of service. How about details considering how much promotion is going on?
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