Virginia secures $1.5 billion to expand internet access in ‘broadband deserts’

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia will receive almost $1.5 billion from the federal government to expand internet access not only in rural areas, but also in “broadband deserts” in cities.

Last week, state and federal officials like Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson spoke with media outlets to share the announcement and talk about why expanding internet access is such a priority.

“The internet has become the essential tool for communications in our modern world,” Davidson said. “Yet, here we are in 2024 and millions of people across America… still do not have access to the internet.”

According to Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Bryan Horn, whether you know it or not, nearly every one of Virginia’s 134 counties and cities have areas that lack quality internet access.

“That is about to change,” Davidson said during the press event.

The Biden administration approved around $1.5 billion to help close the digital divide in the Commonwealth. Horn said Virginia was the first state to file a formal plan under the federal “Broadband Equity, Access, and Development” Program.

“This is our generation’s big infrastructure moment,” Davidson said. “We will look back ten years from now, 20 years from now, and say this was the moment that we stepped up and closed the digital divide in this country,” Davidson said.

While most of the funding will go towards improving internet access in rural areas of the Commonwealth, money will also go to addressing “broadband deserts” in cities, particularly in the Richmond and Petersburg areas.

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