Commerce Dept. approves Va. Broadband Grant; ESVA Broadband included

Virginia’s Final Proposal, approved by the Department of Commerce, will fund broadband projects for all remaining unserved homes and businesses in the Commonwealth.

Governor Glenn Youngkin Wednesday announced that the Commonwealth’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal has received final approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA), according to an announcement  from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Assistant Secretary for Communications and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth.

The Eastern Shore Regional Broadband Authority and Amazon Kupier Commerce Services are included in the grant.  The grant application requested  $6,934,127 for ESVA Broadband and $8,000 for Amazon in Accomack County. In Northampton ESVA requested $1,600 and ESVA Broadband requested $1,878,790. All awards are subject to approval by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

When Governor Youngkin took office in 2022, more than 430,000 Virginians lacked access to broadband infrastructure. Virginia has connected three times more homes than any other state, and the remaining 133,000 unserved homes, with this approval, all of these locations have broadband projects underway. Approval of Virginia’s BEAD Final Proposal represents the last step of bringing broadband service to every Virginian, a monumental milestone in the Governor’s mission to achieve universal broadband access in Virginia.

“Since the very beginning of our administration, connecting every Virginia home and business to reliable, high-speed internet has been a top priority,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “This approval clears the way for us to keep this promise, with a funded broadband project for every unserved home and business in the Commonwealth. Virginia continues to be a national leader in broadband expansion and will be one of the first states in the nation to reach universal broadband access. We offer a tremendous thank you to Secretary Lutnick and Administrator Roth for their leadership in delivering this critical funding while saving taxpayer dollars.”

By approving the Final Proposal, NTIA has authorized Virginia to proceed with over $545 million in BEAD awards to 23 internet service providers to extend broadband infrastructure to more than 133,000 remaining unserved homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions across the Commonwealth. The selected awardees will deploy an array of technologies and leverage nearly $430 million in private dollars to provide service to the last remaining unserved homes in the Commonwealth.

Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)’s Office of Broadband developed the Final Proposal and will administer the BEAD program. Through the streamlined “Benefit of the Bargain” grant application process, DHCD was able to reach every unserved home and business and employ cost-effective technology alternatives where feasible, saving taxpayers more than $250 million.

“We’re thrilled to announce the approval of Virginia’s BEAD Final Proposal,” said NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. “Virginia’s broadband office has shown real leadership—embracing a mix of technologies while working with private partners to deliver nearly a billion dollars in savings. We look forward to seeing universal connectivity become a reality across the Commonwealth.”