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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 scope) and Boone district numbers that were nearly complete. River Street has completed middle‑mile routes in Dickinson and Sago (the Dickinson line is starting to be extended to customers), while Endicott and Ingramsville lines were scheduled to start shortly. County staff emphasized that “percent complete” figures indicate availability at premises, not subscription rates.
Primary bottleneck: County staff and Comcast both flagged utility pole evaluation and pole replacement delays (make‑ready) as the main constraint slowing aerial expansion. Staff said Appalachian Power and some other utilities are hiring additional crews and a project manager to reduce coordination delays. The county has applied for and used state make‑ready funding (Virginia Make Ready initiative) to help cover certain pole and redesign costs tied to aerial‑to‑underground changes.
Zytel and other ISPs: Zytel was reported as having completed engineering and materials ordering but could not begin construction until a state grant agreement was fully executed; county staff expected the state paperwork to be finalized imminently. Comcast said it had received state ZIP‑code allocations and listed Rocky Mount, Glade Hill, Boones Mill and others as BEAD‑eligible focus areas.
Affordability and adoption planning grant: County staff announced Franklin County received a $25,000 Virginia Broadband Affordability and Adoption Planning Grant administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Carly Foster, the county’s business retention and workforce manager, said the six‑month grant will fund a cross‑department planning team, community forums, resident surveys and a pilot digital‑literacy program. The resulting community broadband plan will identify adoption barriers and position the county for additional state and federal funding for affordability programs.
Why it matters: The updates show tangible progress on middle‑mile and last‑mile construction but also underscore that physical buildout does not automatically translate into household connections; adoption and pole repair remain critical constraints. The planning grant creates a mechanism to study affordability — an important complement to network deployment funding.
Ending: Staff said it will continue monthly reporting on ISP progress and anticipated returning with updated completion rates at the Authority’s next meeting.
