BERRYVILLE, VA (July 23, 2019) Virginia Governor Ralph Northam plans to visit Clarke County on July 25 to celebrate the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant recently awarded to the county to support construction of broadband infrastructure in the village of White Post. The governor expects to arrive at White Post Restorations at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Terry Ellis, Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs for Comcast Virginia, will also attend.
Anyone who plans to attend should arrive no later than 12:15 p.m. and use the parking lot to the right and in the rear of the White Post Restorations garage, located at 1 Old Car Drive.
Clarke County this year received $209,513 through the VATI program that provides funds for communities to partner with private sector providers in order to extend broadband access to unserved areas. Clarke County has partnered with Comcast to extend broadband service to residents and businesses in White Post. Comcast has 12 months from the signed grant agreement in June 2019 to begin rolling-out services in the White Post project area.
VATI — administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) — provides financial assistance to supplement construction costs by private sector broadband service providers. In 2019, VATI grants totaling more than $4.9 million were awarded to 11 projects in 12 counties. Projects were selected through a competitive process that evaluated each for demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed projects. The level of funding was based on infrastructure needs in project areas.
Comcast’s Gigabit Internet Service will deliver speeds up to 1 Gbps to residential customers in White Post. In addition, residents will have access to all Xfinity services, including the award-winning Xfinity X1 video platform, Xfinity Home, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Mobile, and businesses can get the full suite of Comcast Business products and services, including Ethernet network speeds up to 100 Gigabits-per-second.
Comcast will also offer its Internet Essentials Program in the White Post project area, providing low-cost broadband service to qualified low-income households.
In a news release earlier this year announcing the VATI grant recipients, Governor Northam said, “In our 21st century economy, broadband connectivity is tied to every facet of our daily lives, from education to business to health care. That’s why making high-speed internet available to every Virginian — in every region of the Commonwealth — is a top priority for my administration.” VATI funding will help close the digital divide in Virginia by putting in place the necessary infrastructure to expand affordable and reliable broadband service to currently unserved rural communities, he said.
