Broadband

Affordable, reliable, high-speed internet access is becoming a necessity for families and businesses. I'm working hard to remove barriers that are hindering expansion of this service in our communities.

Here are some Broadband bills I filed in the last few years:

May 11, 2023 Broadband Update

Today, Governor Youngkin announced another VATI grant was approved for Shenandoah County, a $4,936,968 VATI award, with a $9,168,655 match, for a $14,105,623 project, in partnership with Shentel, to build a fiber-to-the-home broadband network to 2,447 unserved locations, including 29 businesses and community anchors.

November 1, 2022 Broadband Update

After many years of legislative and local efforts, we are finally seeing rapid progress towards universal broadband access for all of the constituents I serve. Through public-private partnerships, fiber-to-home broadband projects are moving forward to serve all residents in Loudoun, Clarke, Frederick, Warren, and Shenandoah Counties. A combination of state VATI grants approved in December 2022, local government contributions, broadband provider buy-in, and funding and access from electricity providers is making this long-term effort a reality. While final planning of the networks is still ongoing, steps have already been taken to secure the necessary materials, and some construction activity is starting. A project this big won’t be done overnight, but is required to be completed by July 1, 2024 for Loudoun County and July 22, 2025 for Clarke, Frederick and Warren; check here for timing in Shenandoah County - progress reporting for all projects is available on the VATI dashboard here: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/virginiadhcd/viz/VATIDashboard/Overall

At the Nov. 1, 2022 Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, staff presented a status update of the current projects to bring broadband to Western Loudoun. View that information here.
All residents of Loudoun, Clarke, Frederick and Warren Counties who don’t currently have broadband should go to https://fiber.allpointsbroadband.com/ to make sure they are signed up and to receive updates.
Shenandoah County residents can find the latest info on their project at https://shentel.com/en/vati-maps/Shenandoah_Co_VATI
Below are two broadband programs that can benefit individual unserved Virginians. See below for more information, and how you can get help connecting to broadband internet.
- Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) A federal program helping low-income households pay for broadband service. The Affordable Connectivity Program was created by the FCC to help households struggling to pay for internet service. Eligible households can enroll in the ACP through an approved provider or by visiting GetInternet.gov
- Line Extension Customer Assistance Program (LECAP) Currently expands existing broadband networks to low-to-moderate-income residents to households setback from the road. For a subset of Virginians, broadband connections are not attainable because their home exceeds an internet service provider’s standard connection drop length from a roadway or easement containing telecommunications infrastructure. The cost incurred by home owners to extend broadband infrastructure to these locations, referred to as special construction costs, range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the distance and cost to connect the location. DHCD has released LECAP Applicant Portal for households to apply for assistance! Individuals seeking assistance through LECAP should apply through the portal here: https://dhcd.virginia.gov/lecap

Grants and Private Investment to Bring Broadband to Entire 33rd House District

December 13, 2021, the Commonwealth announced the latest awards of the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grants to bring universal broadband service to all currently unserved residents and businesses in Loudoun, Clarke, and Frederick Counties. Del. LaRock said, “I know it’s been a very long and painful process to bring broadband service to all my constituents in Loudoun, Clarke and Frederick Counties. Over the last 8+ years, I’ve heard from so many constituents about the way lack of reliable internet service has hindered their ability to work, learn and enjoy life in the rural parts of the district I serve. I’ve worked with all the local governments, internet providers, and constituents to try everything possible to bring them affordable access to reliable broadband internet. I look forward to working with all my constituents and the stakeholders in this project to finally bring this long-standing effort to a successful resolution in the coming months.”

An updated deployment timeframe for each of All Points' projects funded Monday will be announced in early 2022. Residents should visit fiber.allpointsbroadband.com to register their location and to sign up to receive more information about broadband deployment projects in their area.

Read more here....

Information on the newly-available Federal Communications Commission program that has launched to help families and households struggling to afford Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit program provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.
Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.
You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311

June 6, 2021 Important Broadband Expansion Survey

Loudoun County, All Points Broadband (APB) and Dominion are partnering to submit an application for a state funded grant opportunity (VATI Grant). If approved, the grant funding will provide a very real opportunity for delivery of fiber to the home for the overwhelming majority of Loudoun's remaining un- and underserved residents and businesses! If approved - this would almost completely fix our remaining problem areas in Loudoun.

It is important that our grant application be accurate; therefore, we are asking for your help through completion of this brief survey. Completion will help ensure a more accurate application, thus increasing our chances for state approval of the broadband expansion grant (VATI Grant) request. The Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) Grant program is a state-funded grant program for last-mile broadband-to-the-home deployment.

Those interested in helping are asked to complete the survey.

November 17, 2020 Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Emergency Broadband Initiative

August 11, 2020 Northern Loudoun All Points/ NOVEC Announcement I was pleased to join All Points Broadband and NOVEC to announce an agreement that will support All Points’ efforts to extend

fiber-to-the-home broadband service to more than 1,000 homes in northern Loudoun County. The initial locations targeted for service are within or adjacent to NOVEC’s service territory and do not have access to fiber-optic, gigabit-capable broadband today. If you live in the area in purple on the map below, and are interested in receiving this fiber-optic internet, please read more and register your location here.

July, 2020 update on LCPS / Loudoun County Government / SEGRA Fiber Network The LCPS Fiber network is nearing completion, and work on the County project is moving forward. While this fiber network will provide better internet service to schools and government facilities, and save significant taxpayer money over time, I'm most excited about these projects because SEGRA will make fiber available for internet service providers in the area. Contact me if your neighborhood is near the network (see map to the right, and at link above) and needs broadband service.

In May of 2019, Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser and I hosted a Broadband Town Hall meeting. The handout from this meeting is here. A news article covering the Broadband Town Hall is here Another news article highlighting some of the progress we're making in Loudoun is here

One critical issue that has been hindering rural broadband efforts around the country is lack of realistic maps of where people are served or not. In very exciting recent news, Virginia has a head-start on other states, because the Commonwealth was one of two states in a groundbreaking new mapping process. More information on the mapping pilot program is here.

August 15, 2018, I gave a presentation on HB1283 at the Virginia Broadband Advisory Council meeting.

While HB656 did not pass in 2018, it led to ongoing meetings and coordination between Loudoun County and DHR staff; one provider recently told me "As an applicant, we continue to see great strides by DHR in this area and are grateful for everyone’s efforts and support."

Another important piece of rural broadband legislation I supported was my Loudoun County colleague Randy Minchew's 2016 legislation HB912 Transportation, Department of; installation of broadband conduit on public highways.

Local Broadband Providers:

33rd District Local government's broadband information pages are here:

Here are some providers which serve parts of the 33rd District (please let us know if we're missing any):

Wired Broadband & Cable TV Service Providers (Video, Internet, Voice)

Comcast
http://www.comcast.com/
Phone: 888-266-2278
Comcast Loudoun Service Map (PDF)

Verizon FiOS
https://www.verizon.com/home/fios-fastest-Internet/
Phone: 888-438-3467
Verizon FiOS Loudoun Service Map (PDF)

Shentel Business
https://shentelbusiness.com
Phone: 800-743-6835

Lumos Networks
https://www.lumosnetworks.com/
Phone: 855-GO-LUMOS

Wireless Residential & Business Broadband and Metro-Ethernet Providers

All Points Broadband
http://www.allpointsbroadband.com/
Phone: 703-554-6600

BitHaulers
https://www.bithaulers.com/
540-369-8185

BroadAspect
http://www.broadaspect.com/
Phone: 703-443-8274
Phone: 866-894-8444

NOVA Wireless
http://www.novawireless.net/
Phone: 703-348-3543

Saratoga ISP
http://www.saratogaisp.com
Phone: 571-339-9097

Sugarloaf Network
https://www.sugarloafnet.com/
Phone: 301-605-6450
Sugarloaf Network serves a limited area in northern Loudoun County.

Telegia
https://telegia.com/
Phone: 855-698-3534, ext.502
Telegia serves a limited area in the 20180 zip code.

Verizon HomeFusion
https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-services/lte-internet-installed/
Phone: 866-822-9406

Visual Link Internet
http://www.visuallink.com/
Phone: 540-754-1630
Visual Link serves a limited area in western Loudoun County.

Waterford WISP
http://waterfordwisp.com/
Phone: 301-951-5075

Wave2Net
https://www.wave2net.com/
Phone: 540-667-2672

Winchester Wireless
http://winchesterwireless.com/
Phone: 540-665-0800

Virginia Air Networks
http://www.vaairnet.com/
Phone: 540-328-9876

Satellite TV & Internet Services Providers

DirectTV
https://www.directvdeals.com/
Phone: 877-777-9708

Dish Network
https://www.dish.com/
Phone: 888-434-0112

Excede
https://www.zoetisus.com/pages/excede-home/index.aspx
Phone: 855-465-3715

HughesNet
https://internet.hughesnet.com/
Phone: 877-863-6312

NOVECnet
http://www.novecnet.com/
Phone: 877-829-2927

WildBlue
https://www.viasat.com/wildblue
Phone: 855-627-2554

Skycasters
https://www.skycasters.com/
Phone: 330-785-2100

DSL Service Providers

Visual Link Internet
https://www.visuallink.com/
540-754-1630

Cellular Internet

AT&T
https://www.att.com/
Phone: 888-333-6651

Sprint
https://www.sprint.com
Phone: 866-275-1411

T-Mobile
https://www.t-mobile.com/
Phone: 800-T-MOBILE

Verizon Wireless
https://www.verizonwireless.com/
Phone: 800-711-3400