Nearly 800,000 Virginia households still don’t have wireline broadband internet

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Experts say many Virginians still don’t have access to what’s called wireline broadband internet, like cable and fiber.

“Everybody is going to need those services,” Delegate Cliff Hayes (D-Chesapeake), who chairs JCOTS, told 8News. 

On Wednesday, Dr. John Horrigan with the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society told Virginia’s Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) that, based on 2023 data, about 800,000 Virginia households still don’t have wireline broadband internet.

“Wireline broadband typically gives you the fastest speed with unlimited data, that enable people to do all the things online that policy makers probably care about. Work at home. Take a class online. Have a telehealth session,” Horrigan told the commission. 

Horrigan said that while older residents and those living in rural areas are less likely to have wireline broadband, income is the number one reason some Virginians don’t have wireline broadband. 

Horrigan said that to change that, lawmakers could create subsidies to benefit low-income individuals or pass legislation requiring service providers to offer discounts. 

“We know which direction this is going into, and so we need to make sure that we connect as many people as possible. Whether it's through telehealth, education, employment, you name it. We need to make sure that everybody gets connected,” Hayes said.

It’s important to note that some Virginians who don’t have wireline broadband could still have internet through services like satellite or through a mobile network plan.