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Montgomery County hears broadband progress update; Appalachian Power investing $33 million, GigaBeam plans countywide build by March 2026
Summary
Board received updates that Appalachian Power has put $33 million into a middle-mile build and GigaBeam expects contract completion — covering roughly 1,812 passings by year-end and 8,800 more by March 31, 2026 — though railroad permits and sequencing remain unresolved.
Montgomery County officials on Thursday heard an update on the county'wide broadband expansion from Appalachian Power and GigaBeam, who reported steady progress on middle-mile fiber and a target to complete the contract by March 2026.
Speaker 1, a county presenter, told the board, "Appalachian Power is investing $33,000,000 of their own money in the project." He said Appalachian Power had installed about 16.8 of 28 miles of underbuild fiber and had handed off two fiber service areas to GigaBeam. Two railroad permits were still outstanding but staff said they expected those to be resolved soon.
A GigaBeam representative, summarized to the board by meeting participants, outlined active OLTs and passings in early phases. Speaker 7 said OLTs 3 and 5 were active, covering roughly 245 passings in the Shawsville and Elliston area, and staff said the contract calls for about 1,812 passings to be completed by the end of the calendar year in initial zones and roughly 8,800 additional passings across the rest of the county by March 31, 2026.
Board members pressed for details on sequencing and subscriber uptake. Speaker 3 asked how quickly residents would be able to connect once a node is live and whether adoption subsidies would be part of the plan; board members said GigaBeam is planning subsidies to offset upfront costs for customers in some areas. Speaker 7 described the construction pace for Appalachian Power as roughly two miles a week once mobilized, with splicing, testing and any railroad crossings adding extra time.
The presentation also touched on the relationship between the middle-mile underbuild and last-mile service: Appalachian Power is building and monitoring fiber to substations while GigaBeam is responsible for placing the customer-facing fiber before Appalachian Power completes its segments.
Staff reminded the board that the county's ARPA funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026, creating a timeline consideration for any county-related subsidies or matching funds tied to the build. The board asked staff to get additional detail on rollout order and post-launch adoption metrics so the county can track how many households take service once it becomes available.
Next steps: staff expects further scheduling details from both firms and will provide the board with a timeline for which areas will come online first and any outstanding permit risks.
