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Residents press for broadband coverage maps as staff updates comp-plan language
Summary
Committee members pressed planning staff to secure provider-supplied coverage maps and percent-served metrics after residents described lingering ‘last mile’ gaps; staff agreed to request mapped coverage to include in the plan.
Committee members at the March 4 meeting said the broadband section of the comprehensive plan needs measurable metrics from providers (Fireflies, Dominion Energy) so the county can track progress toward past coverage goals. A resident/committee member (speaker 5) described partial service in multiple areas and said, “So I just went to Starlink and got frustrated.”
Staff (speaker 6) said the broadband text had been updated to reflect recent work but agreed the draft would benefit from precise provider-supplied metrics, such as percent of county addresses served and last-mile coverage maps. Members asked the Chair to request those maps so the comp plan can report a baseline and measurable outcomes rather than repeating prior, unmeasured priorities.
Why it matters: county planning and economic development rely on broadband data to market sites and to assess whether rural areas remain underserved. Committee members emphasized that without provider maps or a percent-served figure the plan cannot show measurable progress from prior updates.
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