Light at the end of the tunnel

 

Fiber optic broadband no longer a dream for western Goochland

Covid lockdowns highlighted the need for universal access to broadband. In Goochland, addressing the digital divide between areas with internet access and those without, became more urgent as school went online and people worked from home. Connectivity gaps can be found throughout the county but are most pronounced in the west. Wireless solutions have met with varying degrees of success. Starlink satellite service, which some residents will test later this year, could be another solution.

The supervisors understand the importance of universal broadband access to all Goochland residents, especially those who are un and underserved by broadband. Following a presentation at their April 6 meeting, they authorized the county administrator to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dominion Energy Virginia, Firefly Fiber Broadband, and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative to join a regional broadband initiative. (This document may be viewed in the April 6 board packet, available on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/, beginning on page 127)

This brings the electric utilities that serve the county, Dominion, Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) together with Firefly Fiber Broadband, a private company that will serve as the internet service provider. The collaboration will leverage existing resources of these electric utilities, including rights of way for fiber installation. It is not anticipated that eminent domain— “taking” of private property for public projects—will be used in this process.

During the presentation Gary Wood, CEO of CVEC and President of Firefly, said that the idea for the regional initiative arose from the notion “if we can supply everyone with electric, we should be able to distribute broadband to un and underserved locations in our respective service areas.”

Firefly is already working to bring high speed internet access to its customers in western Goochland as part of an agreement it entered into with Goochland County last year. It hopes to connect all of those in its service area by 2022.

If all goes well, the end result will be a fiber to the premises “last mile” network to offer service to all underserved locations.

The MOU is the first step of the first phase of the plan. This will identify areas where the service is needed, jump through regulatory hoops at the state level, design, and estimate build out costs. Then, funding sources, including applicable grants and amounts of local contributions will be identified. Goochland has a $10 million placeholder for broadband expansion in its capital improvement plan.

If all goes well, the pieces of this important puzzle will fall into place to provide reliable broadband at an affordable price—Firefly offers two packages, $49.99 and $79.99 monthly. (See https://www.fireflyva.com/for details.)

Goochland joins other counties in Central Virginia, including Louisa, in this endeavor.  To be sure, the MOU is the first step in a complicated journey to universal broadband, but this collaboration a leap in the right direction to provide high speed internet access to all of Goochland sooner rather than later. The light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.