Youngkin publishes $613M plan to expand high-speed internet access
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Governor Glenn Youngkin recently announced that a proposal has been published to help Virginia complete its goal of ensuring all homes, businesses and community centers have access to a high-speed internet connection.
Once approved, the state's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal -- published by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) -- will grant $613 million in federal funding to provide connection for 133,500 Virginia locations that don't have high-speed internet services, a release from Youngkin's office said.
Back in 2022, 435,924 customers in Virginia were without high-speed internet services. The Commonwealth eventually funded connections to a large group of customers through federal and state resources, leaving 133,500 remaining customers, according to the release.
The final proposal that was posted for public comment on Wednesday, Aug. 6, hopes to bring that number of unserved customers down to zero.
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“Day one, we made a promise to connect all Virginia homes and businesses to reliable, high-speed internet, and these grants, once approved, will fund the last step to keeping that promise,” Youngkin said. “All Virginians should be proud that we are the nation’s leader in broadband connections, having built 3.5 times more connections in the past four years than any other state. And with the new rules approved by Secretary Lutnick that cut red tape, we are able to do it while saving $200 million taxpayer dollars, a 25 percent savings.”
The release also said there will be grants issued by the DHCD for broadband installation that will be submitted for final approval to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA).
The final proposal will be open for a seven-day window to receive public comment before its submission to the NTIA. For more information, and to view the full proposal, click here.
