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Caroline County committee to seek alternatives to Starlink for two BEAD-flagged unserved pockets
Summary
County staff told the advisory committee that two pockets flagged by BEAD/NTIA mapping are slated to be served by different providers; the Board of Supervisors directed the committee to explore alternatives to Starlink and staff submitted revised address lists to Breezeline.
Unidentified Speaker 2, a committee member/staff, told the Caroline County Broadband Advisory Committee on Nov. 17 that the county has identified two pockets of addresses that BEAD/NTIA mapping shows as unserved and which are included in Virginia's BEAD proposal.
Speaker 2 said the Western pocket (including Charlesburg Road and Western Parkland Road) is proposed to be served by iWISP — a provider the speaker described as transitioning from fixed wireless to symmetrical fiber offerings with up to 2 Gbps capacity — while a Central pocket (including Wrightsville Road, Smoots Mill Road and addresses on Chase Street) had been proposed to be served by Starlink.
"Starlink does not meet the requirements outlined in our adopted universal coverage plan," Speaker 2 said, and reported that at its Nov. 13 meeting the Caroline Board of Supervisors directed the committee to "explore alternative options for bringing broadband availability to this unserved area." The committee was instructed to look for a more equitable, long-term solution rather than relying on Starlink as a permanent fix.
Staff said they provided Breezeline with an updated list of addresses believed to be missed in prior vetting and asked Breezeline to propose options to serve those addresses. If additional funding beyond current allocations is required, staff said the county may need to pursue another VADi/VADI application or issue a request for proposals; staff cautioned that such procurement and grant cycles can be time-consuming.
Speaker 2 reiterated the committee's stance that Starlink could serve as a short-term stopgap while a symmetrical fiber solution is developed, but the board's direction is to prioritize alternatives that meet the county's universal-coverage standards.
The committee agreed to follow up as providers respond and to be prepared to recommend an RFP or additional grant application if necessary. A tentative video update was set for Dec. 15.
