Knowing how central the internet is to our everyday lives, Comcast has continued to significantly invest in our fiber-rich network in Virginia to meet consumer demand and provide our customers the fastest, most reliable internet.
As part of our network expansion in 2021, we deployed over 200 miles of new fiber to expand our high-speed internet service to nearly 9,000 homes and businesses in several municipalities in rural Virginia – including Amelia County, the Town of Brookneal, Buckingham County, Charles City County and Patrick County. A separate network investment project in Bedford County, which was completed in 2020, expanded broadband service to more than 8,000 additional homes and businesses in the Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia area.
With this expansion, new customers will gain access to broadband service with speeds up to 1.2 gigabits as well as other Xfinity services, including the award-winning Xfinity X1 video platform, Xfinity Home, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Mobile. Businesses in these areas will be able to select from the full suite of Comcast Business products and services, including Ethernet network speeds up to 100 Gigabits-per-second.
Our goal was to extend broadband service to not only every resident in rural Virginia, who would benefit from increased educational, entertainment and professional opportunities, but also to Amelia County businesses that would benefit from increased economic development opportunities resulting from this expansion.” – Taylor Harvie, Amelia County Administrator
“I am so pleased to know that Comcast has seen the need for Brookneal and rural Virginia to have access to high-speed internet. High-speed internet has become almost as necessary as electricity, and it must remain a top priority that every household in rural Virginia have broadband access. Thank you to Comcast for filling this gap!” – Delegate James Edmunds (R-Halifax County, VA)
“I am very pleased that Charles City County, Comcast, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have partnered to bring fiber-based internet connectivity to Charles City County. Our constituents have patiently awaited the arrival of internet services to our community and will now be able to avail themselves to opportunities for remote work, telehealth, education and entertainment.” – Gilbert Smith, Chairman, Charles City County Board of Supervisors
Additionally, in late December 2021, the state of Virginia awarded Stafford County a $3.4 million Virginia Telecommunication Initiative Grant (VATI), for which it will partner with Comcast to bring high-speed internet to more than 600 unserved homes in the western part of Stafford County.
Residents in the new areas served by Comcast will also have access to our Internet Essentials program, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. For the last decade, Comcast has been on a mission to help connect low-income Americans to the internet at home through Internet Essentials, including 360,000 individuals in Virginia to date.
Working with private sector companies to provide broadband access to the unserved areas of the 20th Senate district has been a priority of mine since I took office. I understand that broadband access is critical now more than ever to the constituents I serve and commend Comcast for its dedication to closing the digital divide.” – Senator Bill Stanley
“I want to thank Comcast for taking the initiative to bring broadband internet service to the most rural parts of the 59th District in Buckingham County. I am very excited to see the innovative Internet Essentials program in place, as it is imperative to be able to help our neighbors who may lack resources to keep their homes connected.” – Delegate Matt Fariss
Complimenting Comcast’s ongoing commitment to keeping customers connected, the company is participating in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a longer-term version of the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which provides eligible customers with a monthly credit of up to $30 towards their Internet bill from Comcast. New and existing customers interested in applying can visit xfinity.com/ACP to see what options are available to them, and register.