CHATHAM, Va. – Broadband will soon be more accessible for nearly 12,000 residents in Pittsylvania County, thanks to a multimillion-dollar project approved at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding between the Pittsylvania County School Board, Board of Supervisors and RiverStreet Network.
“It will change and transform this county. This will give us a competitive edge on economic development that we have never had, because we’ve always tried to have the opportunity to compete with folks that had better broadband than we did,” said Bob Warren, Board of Supervisors Chairman.
Pittsylvania County’s Board of Supervisors and the county’s school board are contributing a combined $16.5 million towards the $75 million project. RiverStreet Networks has also pledged a $19 million match. The rest of the bill is expected to be covered by a grant from the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative.
“If you can find a silver lining out of all of this craziness we’ve had the last two years, it is some of the federal fundings. And honestly, the federal government has realized in the state also how important rural broadband is,” said Warren.
Installation of the fiber to home lines could begin as early as January 2022. The project is expected to be completed by 2024.
“We’re going to get it done here. Hopefully when this board starts this project as soon as possible,” said Eric Cramer, RiverStreet Networks president.