By Carmen Bunker
Rockbridge County is moving forward with an ambitious broadband expansion project, aiming to bring high-speed internet to underserved areas.
The $4.87 million project is funded in part by a $975,865 grant from the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI), with Rockbridge County and internet provider Brightspeed contributing the remainder.
Rockbridge County has committed $1.77 million, while Brightspeed is contributing $2.13 million, according to the agreement between Brightspeed and the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors. The county will distribute $2.75 million in planned funding to Brightspeed to improve broadband infrastructure.
“Last fall, we were finally notified that we got two Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grants, which we’ve been working toward for several years” said Spencer Suter, the Rockbridge County administrator. “It’s a huge step forward for us, and we’re excited to bring better internet to Rockbridge County.”
The project will extend broadband service to 976 locations, which include homes and small businesses in Rockbridge County that currently lack download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 megabits per second.
“Construction costs, supply chain issues, and topographical obstacles all present hurdles…but we are committed to overcoming them and delivering broadband to the people who need it most.”
Many of these areas are also qualify for federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding, which supports broadband expansion in underserved locations.
Collierstown is not included in this broadband expansion because it is already receiving service through a separate federal grant awarded to BARC Connects, another internet provider.
“Collierstown area, that’s really attractive, for broadband providers because it’s kind of a lot of residents there,” said Philippe Bone, Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) regional planner. “That [area] will be served by the federal grant that BARC received.”
Project timeline and management
Construction is expected to begin in October, with completion targeted for May 2027.
“We anticipate having some customers connected within 12 to 18 months, but full project completion will take longer,” Suter said.
To make sure that the VATI grant is properly managed, the county has contracted with the CSPDC. It will oversee financial reporting.
Due to federal deadlines, Rockbridge County reallocated its originally designated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay for a school HVAC project. This freed up $1.77 million from the general fund, which was then officially dedicated as the county’s broadband grant match. The Board of Supervisors approved this funding and the Brightspeed agreement on Feb. 24.
Resident concerns about Brightspeed
While officials anticipate the project will improve education, healthcare, and business opportunities, some residents remain skeptical about Brightspeed’s reliability.
Dwayne Hall, a Rockbridge County resident, expressed concerns about service consistency.
“My mother’s got Brightspeed, and her service just dips at any one time,” said Hall, adding that his mother lives in one of the underserved areas. “If she didn’t have 5G service where she lives with her cell phone, you could not depend on Brightspeed for work-from-home needs.”
Hall also said there are issues with customer service.
“You may have to wait three to five days for a technician to come because they don’t staff enough people,” he said. “They want to sell the product, but they don’t want to maintain it.”
While some residents remain skeptical about Brightspeed’s reliability, the company said it expects the fiber-optic expansion to significantly improve service.
“It’s scalable. So, it should be able to deliver speeds, even faster into the future,” said Pamela Sherwood, vice president of Brightspeed’s regulatory, compliance and broadband office. “And when people subscribe to fiber and move off of the old network, they actually see not only faster speeds that the fiber can deliver, but more reliability, because it’s not subject to some of the troubles that you find when copper gets wet.”
To address service challenges, Brightspeed says it has a system in place to monitor the network and respond to issues quickly.
“We have existing systems set up that monitor out network, that look for troubles in our systems,” Sherwood said. “We’ve got, a very highly skilled, installation and repair technicians that are available to address any kind of trouble in our network.”
Despite the funding and strong partnerships, however, challenges remain for the project.
“Construction costs, supply chain issues, and topographical obstacles all present hurdles,” Suter said. “But we are committed to overcoming them and delivering broadband to the people who need it most.”
County officials encourage residents to stay informed and participate in community meetings to track progress.
“The process requires a lot of work, but it’s rewarding because some people really need the internet,” Bone said. “It’s important for the economic growth of a region as well.”