TJPDC staff members attended Firefly Fiber Broadband’s recent celebration of reaching 20,000 rural fiber broadband connections across the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) service area. Firefly is partnering with TJPDC on a three-year, $288 million dollar fiber broadband expansion program to reach additional unserved locations in Central Virginia, building off the CVEC fiber buildout. This additional work is supported by a $79 million Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant awarded to TJPDC and $209 million in matching funds (including over $32.8 million from the 13 counties that are part of the project).
On reaching this milestone, Firefly President and CEO, Gary Wood, concludes, “Firefly has reached this milestone through the power of partnerships. All of the folks in this room today have played a critical part in reaching 20,000 rural broadband connections and transforming the lives of those who reside in rural central Virginia. Firefly is grateful to its loyal customers who trusted in us since we announced the start of the project in 2018. We have connected so many already, but there are at least twice that many who now want to be connected. We will keep moving as fast as we can until we achieve universal service in our area.”
For more information on VATI visit tjpdc.org/our-work/broadband/.