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Stafford reports VADI project connected 682 homes; county will back BEAD applicants that pledge universal coverage
Summary
Chief Information Services Officer Andrew Spence told the board that Comcast and the county expanded broadband to about 682 homes under a VADI grant and that the county will provide letters of support only to BEAD/BEED applications that include universal coverage for unserved homes.
Andrew Spence, Stafford County’s Chief Information Services Officer, told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 that a county-supported VADI broadband project extended service to more homes than initially planned and that the county is preparing to support BEAD/BEED applications that commit to universal coverage.
Spence said the Comcast-led VADI (Virginia Advanced Digital Infrastructure) work brought service to roughly 682 homes across 49.6 miles in the Rock Hill and Hartwood districts. He provided a project-level cost breakdown on the record: about $5.8 million in total, with approximately $3.4 million from the state, roughly $1.5 million from county funds and just under $1 million from Comcast.
"We are going to only support those letters or those applications that go for universal coverage," Spence said, describing the county’s approach to the federal BEAD/BEED (broadband-equity) process. He said BEAD is a federal program with nearly $1.5 billion to Virginia; in that program, internet service providers (ISPs) apply directly for funding and the county’s role is to provide support such as letters of endorsement.
Spence told the board the state’s mapping and voluntary ISP submissions show Stafford has reduced its unserved population to roughly 4 percent; CommonwealthConnection.com is the DHCD mapping site he cited. He said the BEAD application window closes March 1 and some milestones in the federal timeline were still to be finalized by the state.
Several supervisors thanked Spence for the county’s progress on the VADI project and for pursuing universal-coverage commitments under BEAD. Spence said the county had provided its first letter of support to an ISP that included universal coverage in its application.
Ending: Spence asked residents to wait for further guidance once the BEAD milestones are set and said the county will continue to press for funding that covers the remaining unserved homes.
