Expanding broadband
Virginia needs your help to secure its share of federal internet funding
Hampton Roads residents can secure a windfall for the region — a substantial sum of federal money to improve broadband internet access — but you have to act quickly.
Visit connectingvirginia.com today to perform a home internet speed test; your participation could make the difference in how much the region receives for broadband improvement and expansion.
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law included funding for a host of needed upgrades nationwide, from water systems to power grids. Improving broadband internet in rural areas was a key provision of the law, and Congress appropriated $65 billion through the legislation to expand connectivity to a greater number of Americans.
The reasoning is clear: High-speed, affordable and reliable internet access is as much a necessity as are other utilities such as water, power and sewer. Homes lacking such a connection are increasingly at a disadvantage to their peers, and having more residents connected through broadband, conversely, makes the region more competitive for businesses and attractive to residents.
The need for such access was clear before the pandemic, but the abrupt transition from in-person learning and shopping to virtual school and online shopping emphasized the value of expanding broadband connectivity to every American. A failure to do so risks leaving more people behind — inhibiting their ability to participate in an increasingly online world.
The commonwealth was already working to bring broadband to more residents through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative. VTI was launched in 2017 with the ambitious goal of providing every state resident with access to reliable, highspeech internet, building on an earlier effort to map availability to identify underserved areas and communities. All told, Virginia has spent about $1.3 billion on this push, most of it from the federal government.
Funding through the federal infrastructure act could exceed that. The commonwealth gained access to $1.48 billion through the new law, the sixth-largest total awarded to a state, and money will be distributed through the federal Broadband Equity, Accessibility and Deployment, or BEAD, grant program.
State officials made the announcement about the federal funding in June, and in September spelled out how Virginia would use the funds to provide “functionally universal broadband access” across the commonwealth by 2028.
From any number of perspectives, that would be a huge achievement for Virginia. It would make businesses both small and large more competitive, and ensure even small shops have access to a global marketplace. It will supercharge schools and universities across the state, and ensure no child is left behind in times of crisis. And it will energize small communities, who need only have reliable, affordable broadband to attract residents and businesses.
However, there is one problem — and that’s why Virginians need to pitch in.
Allocation of the BEAD funding will be dependent on where it’s most needed, so areas without reliable, high-speed access will be prioritized. However, the federal maps used to determine areas with broadband-quality access and those without aren’t as accurate as they could be.
Hampton Roads residents can help improve the accuracy of the maps by visiting connectingvirginia.com and using your home internet to perform a speed test. Conducting that test on three consecutive days will help inform the final maps used for BEAD funding.
Those three tests should be conducted by Thursday’s deadline — meaning you should start today — but so long as you begin the first test by Thursday, it will allow you to complete the three-day cycle.
No home internet? No problem. Use your phone to complete the survey; it will ask why you don’t have internet access and you can provide input that could help shape this important initiative.
While its disappointing municipal and regional officials haven’t promoted this effort as prominently as possible, Virginians can still make a difference.
Visit connectingvirginia.com today to help Hampton Roads and the commonwealth take a large leap forward in expanding reliable, high-speed internet access to homes and businesses across Virginia.