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| Image Goochland County |
Until the regional internet service expansion project (RISE)
came along just before Covid, it seemed like western Goochland would never have
broadband access. RISE, an initiative of the Central Virginia Electric Coop (go
to fireflyva.com for details) created a collaboration of counties and electric
power providers to expand broadband. Firefly broadband is internet service
provider.
Goochland Community Affairs Manager Paul Drumwright shared
progress on the matter with the supervisors at their June 6 meeting.
Each electric utility participant in the RISE project, CVEC,
Rappahannock Electric Coop, and Dominion Energy, must complete its piece of the
infrastructure puzzle that includes design of the cable route, engineering, and
securing easements before construction begins.
Deploying fiber optic cable to connect unserved parts of the
county is complicated. Dominion, for instance, is supplying “middle mile” cable
in its service area, which Firefly will lease and build “laterals” that connect
to homes and businesses.
It is anticipated that people in the RISE project area will
have service by sometimes in 2025. Drumwright reiterated the importance of registering
with https://register.fireflyva.com/
to ensure inclusion in the project. A virtual town hall will be held on June 22
at 4 p.m. at https://www.fireflyva.com/town-halls/
for the Mt. Hope REC area. It is unclear
how those without broadband may participate.
Goochland and 12 other localities are part of the RISE
initiative. Funding for the project comes from a patchwork of sources,
including grants, and money from Goochland County.
Go to https://www.fireflyva.com/partners-goochland/
for maps and approximate timelines.
The good news is that people who have connected—more are
added every week—to Firefly are very pleased with the service. May the cyber
gods smile on this project and speed the path for construction and connection.
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