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State and Zitel tell Franklin County residents BEAD work is advancing; public dashboard launched
Summary
DHCD and Zitel officials told the Broadband Authority and county supervisors that BEAD‑funded work in Franklin County is progressing — Zitel reports about half the construction is complete and the state launched a public BEAD progress map to show passings and service status.
Carl Codell, telecommunications and broadband project manager for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, told Franklin County officials on June 16 that the state is moving BEAD projects through federal checklist steps and has published a public progress hub that residents can use to see passings and provider information.
Codell said the BEAD dashboard is address‑searchable and shows where projects are planned and which provider will serve a location. "As passings are completed we can update this map in real time," he said, and urged supervisors and staff to share the tool with constituents who want to know when service will arrive.
Rodney Gray, project lead for Zitel Internet, gave construction metrics for the county. He said the company had completed engineering, staking and walkouts for six POPs; reported roughly 118 miles of the overall 210 miles in the county are active; and said 925 of 2,325 eligible passings in the Zitel footprint have active fiber. "We're 100% done with engineering, staking and walkouts for all six POPs in Franklin County," Gray said. He added that construction progress was about 50% and that crews already working on other rural projects will be able to add BEAD lines once contracts and federal environmental reviews are complete.
County staff said they expect many BEAD contracts to be finalized and that, when signed, construction crews already in Franklin County will extend work to BEAD locations — shortening the time between contract and connection for residents. Officials said federal environmental and historic reviews may be categorical exemptions for much of the build because work is being done in existing rights‑of‑way, but final clearance timing remains a federal matter.
How to check service: Codell and staff showed the DHCD deployment map and said residents can find by‑address status, the planned provider for BEAD segments and whether a location has already been connected. County staff agreed to add the dashboard link to the county broadband page and social channels to help residents track local progress.
What's next: Zitel and DHCD officials said they will continue monthly updates to the Authority and county. The company expects to have all six POPs lit and activated by the end of the year if federal steps and permits progress as planned.
