Clarke County Receives VATI Grant for Rural Broadband Infrastructure
Governor Ralph Northam announced on Dec. 13, 2021, that Clarke County is one of eight counties in the Northern Shenandoah Valley that will share a $95,303,000 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant for much-needed rural broadband infrastructure. The grant was awarded to All Points Broadband in partnership with the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission (NSVRC) as well as Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.
Clarke Supervisors David Weiss, Bev McKay, Terri Catlett, and Doug Lawrence attended the Dec. 13 news conference in Augusta County where Governor Northam also announced an allocation of more than $722 million in total for universal broadband infrastructure projects in 70 localities. Since he took office in 2018, Virginia has invested more than $846 million to connect more than 429,000 Virginia homes, businesses, and community anchors to broadband service.
The $95,303,000 VATI award will be leveraged with a combined $59.3 million in matching funds from the participating counties and primarily sourced from local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) infrastructure funding.
The project will deliver fiber broadband to more than 37,000 unserved locations and achieve universal coverage in the eight counties. In Clarke County, the project will serve those households located in unincorporated areas of the county that currently lack access to any wired broadband options. Berryville and Boyce are incorporated towns and are not part of the project.
“The grant funding announced today is a once-in-a-lifetime investment for Clarke County,” said Board chair David Weiss. “This project will close the digital divide much like the Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s closed the electrical divide. We thank Virginia’s governor and his staff for their work on this funding opportunity.”
Russell District Supervisor and current chair of the Clarke County Broadband Implementation Committee Doug Lawrence noted, “This project is the culmination of years of work by Clarke’s Board of Supervisors and Broadband Implementation Committee. We are thankful for our partnership with All Points Broadband, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, and the Commonwealth. We look forward to developing an agreement and implementation schedule with All Points Broadband, and hope to have more details to share about this project in the coming months.”
“Today is a historic day for Clarke County,” said Jimmy Carr, chief executive officer of All Points Broadband. “We are honored to be partnering with Clarke to seize this opportunity to fully and finally bridge the digital divide with a project that will extend an all-fiber broadband network to all remaining unserved locations in the county.”
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative is part of the project, too.
In a Dec. 13 news release from the Governor’s Office, president and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative John Hewa said, “Our goal has always been to be part of the solution to enable and facilitate broadband to the households and businesses Rappahannock Electric Cooperative serves. Being able to partner on this with the counties and All Points Broadband is a major accomplishment that allows each of us to further the Commonwealth’s goals of making broadband access available to everyone.”
Earlier this year, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to participate in a regional VATI grant application with All Points Broadband through the NSVRC. With the grant now approved, Clarke County has 90 days to enter into an agreement with the NSVRC and All Points Broadband to execute the project, which involves installation of approximately 290 miles of fiber infrastructure to unserved areas in Clarke County.
A more detailed construction timeframe will be available early in 2022. Residents and business owners who want to learn more about the project, sign up for updates, or pre-register locations for service once it is available should visit fiber.allpointsbroadband.com, and complete a survey.
Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development administers the VATI program. The projects that received funding today were selected through a competitive process that evaluated each project’s demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed project. The level of funding awarded was based on the infrastructure needs in the project area.
Direct questions about the broadband project to County Administrator Chris Boies at (540) 955-5100 or [email protected].
Clarke Supervisors David Weiss, Bev McKay, Terri Catlett, and Doug Lawrence attended the Dec. 13 news conference in Augusta County where Governor Northam also announced an allocation of more than $722 million in total for universal broadband infrastructure projects in 70 localities. Since he took office in 2018, Virginia has invested more than $846 million to connect more than 429,000 Virginia homes, businesses, and community anchors to broadband service.
The $95,303,000 VATI award will be leveraged with a combined $59.3 million in matching funds from the participating counties and primarily sourced from local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) infrastructure funding.
The project will deliver fiber broadband to more than 37,000 unserved locations and achieve universal coverage in the eight counties. In Clarke County, the project will serve those households located in unincorporated areas of the county that currently lack access to any wired broadband options. Berryville and Boyce are incorporated towns and are not part of the project.
“The grant funding announced today is a once-in-a-lifetime investment for Clarke County,” said Board chair David Weiss. “This project will close the digital divide much like the Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s closed the electrical divide. We thank Virginia’s governor and his staff for their work on this funding opportunity.”
Russell District Supervisor and current chair of the Clarke County Broadband Implementation Committee Doug Lawrence noted, “This project is the culmination of years of work by Clarke’s Board of Supervisors and Broadband Implementation Committee. We are thankful for our partnership with All Points Broadband, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, and the Commonwealth. We look forward to developing an agreement and implementation schedule with All Points Broadband, and hope to have more details to share about this project in the coming months.”
“Today is a historic day for Clarke County,” said Jimmy Carr, chief executive officer of All Points Broadband. “We are honored to be partnering with Clarke to seize this opportunity to fully and finally bridge the digital divide with a project that will extend an all-fiber broadband network to all remaining unserved locations in the county.”
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative is part of the project, too.
In a Dec. 13 news release from the Governor’s Office, president and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative John Hewa said, “Our goal has always been to be part of the solution to enable and facilitate broadband to the households and businesses Rappahannock Electric Cooperative serves. Being able to partner on this with the counties and All Points Broadband is a major accomplishment that allows each of us to further the Commonwealth’s goals of making broadband access available to everyone.”
Earlier this year, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to participate in a regional VATI grant application with All Points Broadband through the NSVRC. With the grant now approved, Clarke County has 90 days to enter into an agreement with the NSVRC and All Points Broadband to execute the project, which involves installation of approximately 290 miles of fiber infrastructure to unserved areas in Clarke County.
A more detailed construction timeframe will be available early in 2022. Residents and business owners who want to learn more about the project, sign up for updates, or pre-register locations for service once it is available should visit fiber.allpointsbroadband.com, and complete a survey.
Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development administers the VATI program. The projects that received funding today were selected through a competitive process that evaluated each project’s demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed project. The level of funding awarded was based on the infrastructure needs in the project area.
Direct questions about the broadband project to County Administrator Chris Boies at (540) 955-5100 or [email protected].
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