County broadband project reports steady construction; 7,288 locations serviceable, 22% take rate

At the Jan. 21 Pittsylvania County Board work session, a county broadband representative updated supervisors on construction progress and subscriber uptake for the county fiber project.

Zach Church, speaking for the broadband project team, said crews and contractors are actively building across multiple areas, adding cabinets and performing splicing and testing. He reported that, since the board’s November update, the network added 1,721 new locations with access to fiber and that, as of Jan. 14, 171 customers were installed and 405 orders were in process.

Church said 7,288 locations can now receive service and that the countywide take rate stands at 22 percent; project staff aim for a longer-term goal of about 40 percent. He warned that cold winter weather can temporarily slow installations and that the team expects a modest lull in installs for a month or two due to freezing ground.

Supervisors asked about specific neighborhoods and routes, including whether U.S. 29 corridors and certain outlying communities are covered by current funding; Church said most work follows funded build areas but that some sections (he cited a corridor along 29) were not in the current funding and that the project will pursue additional “deep funding” with the board’s letter of support.

Church introduced Mike Pincus as the network services director joining the build team and said the project has held multiple sign-up days (12 to date) and continues outreach; the team reported gaining roughly 20 orders from a recent Chatham sign-up event.

Board members raised localized service-quality reports from residents and asked project staff to dispatch technicians to troubleshoot individual home Wi‑Fi or drop issues; Church said residents may contact the project office for service checks and suggested staff would follow up with technicians.