WARSAW, Va. (February 8, 2021) – The Northern Neck Planning District Commission and All Points Broadband announced today that they have received an additional $8.5 million in federal broadband funds to support the second and final phase of a regional fiber-to-the-home broadband network to bring internet access to approximately 7,500 unserved locations in the Counties of King George, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland, in partnership with Dominion Energy Virginia and the Northern Neck Electric Cooperative. Together with the $10.3 million in state funding announced in January, the partners have now received $18.8 million in state and federal funding to help build a fiber-to-the-home network to serve presently unserved locations in the initial four counties.

“Access to reliable internet is more critical now than ever,” said Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia. “We’re excited about the role we play in this partnership, and we’re optimistic about how much these efforts could help communities here in our home state.”

“This project is incredibly exciting and will lead to universal coverage in a huge portion of the Commonwealth that has been left behind for too long,” said Evan Feinman, Governor Northam’s Chief Broadband Advisor. “The Governor’s vision of getting all Virginians online is a big step closer to being a reality.”

“Less than a year ago we charted an ambitious new course to achieve universal broadband access in the Northern Neck and we are making remarkable progress,” said Jerry W. Davis, Executive Director of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission. “The last few weeks represent a watershed moment in our long journey to deliver this critical infrastructure to everyone, and we are thankful to All Points, Dominion Energy Virginia and the Northern Neck Electric Cooperative for their roles in this unique partnership. There is a lot of work to be done, but we’re in a better position than ever before and the objective is finally in sight.”

“In the past month we’ve delivered more than $18 million in grant funding in support of this important project, and we look forward to commencing construction on Phase I later this year,” said Jimmy Carr, CEO of All Points Broadband. “We’re working with our partners to finalize Phase II and are looking for opportunities to work with more jurisdictions to expand this effort. The imperative to ensure universal access to broadband has never been more urgent.”

Residents of the Northern Neck can visit: fiber.allpointsbroadband.com to register their location, determine whether their location is included in the project’s initial phase, and to sign up for future project updates.