Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

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But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Back in 2021, ILSR noted that government leaders across Virginia had forged a partnership with a local private ISP and several nearby cooperatives to finally expand affordable, next-generation fiber into long unserved portions of eight predominantly rural Virginia counties.

Three years later and the partnership doesn’t appear to be working out all that well for Augusta County, with numerous county officials bickering about a lack of transparency and a conspicuous lack of deployment progress.

The original coalition involved Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), All Points Broadband, and Dominion Energy Virginia collaborating to bring fiber to unserved parts of Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Image

But recent reporting by the Augusta Free Press and the News Leader indicates that the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the county administrator, Tim Fitzgerald, are increasingly fighting over what they say is a lack of any progress, and a lack of transparency between county agencies and the company.

Five years ago, the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) announced the creation of the Firefly Broadband initiative, a subsidiary specifically built to leverage the co-op’s existing electrical assets to deliver affordable fiber to 13 underserved Virginia counties.

Half a decade later, the coop says it has successfully completed its $150 million expansion project, deployed 3,600 miles of new fiber, passed 40,000 total homes and businesses, and directly connected 20,000 state residents–many for the first time ever–in less than 52 months.

“Central Virginia Electric Cooperative partnered with Conexon to perform a feasibility study for a fiber build across their entire service territory – 13 counties and 3600 miles,” CVEC VP of Communications Melissa Gay told ILSR. “Once the target costs, offerings and take rates were determined, we chose to race to secure supplies and labor. Finding great partners has been a tremendous help to the success of our project.”

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Buoyed by numerous grants including a $28 million combination loan and grant from the USDA's ReConnect Program, Firefly now provides local residents symmetrical 100 Mbps (megabits per second) fiber for $50 a month, and symmetrical 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) service for $80 a month. There are no contracts and no data caps.

About 90 percent of households connected had no broadband access previously, according to Bruce Maurhoff, Firefly’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.

Five years ago, the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) announced the creation of the Firefly Broadband initiative, a subsidiary specifically built to leverage the co-op’s existing electrical assets to deliver affordable fiber to 13 underserved Virginia counties.

Half a decade later, the coop says it has successfully completed its $150 million expansion project, deployed 3,600 miles of new fiber, passed 40,000 total homes and businesses, and directly connected 20,000 state residents–many for the first time ever–in less than 52 months.

“Central Virginia Electric Cooperative partnered with Conexon to perform a feasibility study for a fiber build across their entire service territory – 13 counties and 3600 miles,” CVEC VP of Communications Melissa Gay told ILSR. “Once the target costs, offerings and take rates were determined, we chose to race to secure supplies and labor. Finding great partners has been a tremendous help to the success of our project.”

Image

Buoyed by numerous grants including a $28 million combination loan and grant from the USDA's ReConnect Program, Firefly now provides local residents symmetrical 100 Mbps (megabits per second) fiber for $50 a month, and symmetrical 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) service for $80 a month. There are no contracts and no data caps.

About 90 percent of households connected had no broadband access previously, according to Bruce Maurhoff, Firefly’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.