Buchanan supervisor updates broadband status in Arcadia
Hello friends, neighbors, and constituents. Many of you have been asking about the status of broadband in the Arcadia area of Botetourt, and I finally have some details to share. As you may know, Botetourt County has been actively working to improve broadband connectivity throughout our community since 2017. The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors and county leadership recognize that access and affordability to reliable internet coverage is more critical than ever before, and the county wants to ensure that ALL of our citizens and businesses have the opportunity to have broadband connectivity.
I, along with County Administrator Gary Larrowe, Director of Economic Development Ken McFadyen, and several affected citizens met with BARC and Dominion Energy on November 21, 2023, to strategize plans for making the build a reality and to better understand why there had been delays. At that meeting, Botetourt County was informed by BARC Connects that they would not be able to complete the planned internet project in the county that they had been working on. This news was a surprise to us, and upon learning this information, we recognized the urgency to devise a new plan to continue the project.
At the December 19, 2023 Board of Supervisors meeting, the board took action to discontinue the partnership with BARC so that we could work with Dominion Energy to seek another internet provider to take over the project and complete the installation. County staff began working to strategize how to provide internet service to the affected 671 addresses and applied for a Virginia Telecommunications Initiative Grant (VATI) in partnership with Lumos and Dominion Energy to make this build a reality. This grant was submitted on December 19, 2023. On July 24, 2024, we received notice that we did not receive VATI funding for this project. However, at the suggestion of the Virginia DHCD, we are now exploring BEAD (Broadband Equity Access & Deployment Program) funding to complete the project. We will also be meeting with VATI representatives to learn why our application was denied and to ask that they share comments with individual citizens. You may have seen the news indicating that Virginia has been approved for almost $1.5 billion through this project; we are doing our best to ensure that the Arcadia project is included.
I understand how frustrating this delay is and as a directly impacted citizen, I share this frustration with each of you. Please know that we are fully committed to making broadband accessible to everyone, and I won’t stop until we achieve that. I feel that we are making progress, albeit much slower than anyone would like. I am encouraged by the recent announcement confirming the BEAD funding for Virginia. I fully anticipate favorable resolution and will let you know as soon as I have more definitive details to share.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at awhite@botetourtva.gov. It is truly my honor to represent each of you.
Amy White, Vice Chair
Botetourt County Board of Supervisors
