Governor Glenn Youngkin announced more than $41 million in Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grants (VATI) for 10 broadband projects serving 20 localities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia last Wednesday.
This year, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) received 25 grant applications requesting more than $170 million in VATI funding. Botetourt County announced that it is receiving funding totaling $395,411 to work on expanding and establishing broadband installation with Comcast to 62 addresses in the Blue Ridge area. This VATI proposal follows three previous successful VATI projects in Botetourt County serving a total of approximately 3,070 addresses and culminates the county’s work to deliver broadband connectivity to every residence and business, begun in 2017 with the broadband demand study.
Botetourt County will continue to work with DHCD and internet service providers to look for opportunities to ensure that all residents have access to reliable internet, specifically in the northern part of Botetourt, including the Arcadia community. The county is exploring BEAD (Broadband Equity Access & Deployment Program) funding to complete the universal coverage broadband build.
The VATI program provides targeted funding to extend service to areas that are presently unserved by any broadband provider. An expansion of services like this can have profoundly positive impacts on a community– it provides more educational and connectivity options for residents and opens up economic development opportunities for localities.
VATI Success to Date
Botetourt County has been awarded (3) VATI grants:
- 2019 – Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative(CBEC); $758,998 VATI award matched by $1,207,999 in county and CBEC funds (61% local/private match) to serve 621 addresses.
- Total Project Cost per Address Served: $3,167
- VATI Award per Address Served: $1,222
- 2020 – Lumos Networks; $1,364,337 VATI award matched by $1,254,000 in county and Lumos funds (52% local/private match) to serve 548 addresses
- Total Project Cost per Address Served: $4,778
- VATI Award per Address Served: $2,490
- 2021 – Lumos Fiber – $3,084,796; VATI award matched by $4,824,937 in county and Lumos funds (61% local/private match) to serve 1,901 addresses
- Total Project Cost per Address Served – $4,161
- VATI Award per Address Served – $1,623
- Total VATI grant awards of $5,208,131 ($1,697 per address) & $7,286,936 in county and provider funds to serve 3,070 addresses (total – $4,070 per address)
~ Fincastle Herald staff report
