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All Points Broadband reports state grant approvals, cites VDOT permit bottleneck for Culpeper rollout
Summary
All Points Broadband told the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors it has state funding approvals to shift much of the network underground and has released miles to construction, but VDOT's limited permit throughput is the primary constraint on completing service by February 2025.
All Points Broadband project manager Mr. Innes told the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6 that the company received state approvals last Friday for a program to fund undergrounding of fiber and has released sections of the network to construction.
"We got approval for that on Friday," Mr. Innes said, describing two approved applications to the Virginia Make Ready/Resiliency Fund that will support Culp VI and Culp III routes. He said completed middle-mile work on Dominion's Bridal Mile and a newly built network cabinet in Stevensburg now link the county network to upstream service.
The treelike network work is already producing customer outreach: Mr. Innes said 224 locations in Culpeper Service Area 6 have received initial communications and that preregistration rose from 10% to 15% among those early-notified households. "So pretty good response from these notifications," he said.
Board members focused questions on timing. Mr. Innes said crews are building 12 miles that should be done within a week for an initial batch of customers and that, assuming VDOT permit approvals can increase, All Points can be "substantially complete" by February 2025. He repeatedly identified VDOT's limit on how many open permits the Warrenton residency will approve at once—typically six to eight—as the main bottleneck slowing simultaneous construction across multiple routes.
"The VDOT resources is the main constraint we have right now," he said, adding that All Points and the county plan to meet with VDOT to explain the timeline and seek greater throughput.
Mr. Innes also told the board that All Points experienced a hardware issue with a device from Segre that delayed service in one cabinet, and that his team was meeting with the vendor multiple times daily until the problem is resolved. He said the company has shifted much of the last-mile design from aerial to underground where make-ready costs or timing were prohibitive.
What comes next: Mr. Innes said All Points will submit additional Make Ready applications in the next state cycle (the company was targeting Nov. 14) and will continue releasing miles to VDOT as permits are approved. The board offered to help by engaging with VDOT and tracking the permit process.
The board did not take any formal vote on the broadband update; the presentation concluded with supervisors thanking Mr. Innes for the report.
