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Franklin County hears broadband build updates; county wins $25,000 planning grant for affordability and adoption
Summary
County staff reported progress and delays across Shentel, River Street and Zytel projects, cited pole make‑ready and permitting as primary bottlenecks, and announced a $25,000 Virginia Affordability and Adoption Planning Grant to study digital literacy and adoption barriers.
Franklin County staff gave the Board of Supervisors and the Broadband Authority an update on local broadband projects and announced a new state planning grant to address adoption and affordability.
Project status: The Shentel grant projects show the most household‑level availability; staff said Shentel has “percent complete” figures because they have made service available at individual addresses, while River Street’s progress is measured by middle‑mile fiber pulled by Appalachian Power and is still at 0% for household availability until the ISP completes splicing and drop extensions.
Staff walked the board through district‑level numbers — examples included 1,219 addresses funded through Shentel in the Blackwater district (reported as roughly 64.5% construction complete for that funded…
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