Goochland County expands broadband effort to reach unserved residents
Fiber buildouts are targeting western Goochland, where nearly 1,400 locations are slated to gain gigabit service and residents can still use public hotspots today.
A ReConnect-funded build in western Goochland will pass nearly 1,400 locations and make gigabit service available to almost 3,400 residents. Some of Goochland County’s hardest-to-reach homes and roads are still waiting on reliable service.
The county’s broadband hub now pulls together progress updates, maps, provider listings, issue-reporting tools and FAQs, and it includes an interactive form where residents can report broadband and cellular needs even if they are not ready to buy service yet.
The Board of Supervisors adopted broadband objectives and principles on April 4, 2017, setting a minimum target of 10 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up while recognizing the FCC benchmark of 25 Mbps and 3 Mbps. Those principles also put unserved areas ahead of underserved ones. The effort has been building since at least 2012, when a Goochland High Speed Internet Committee report was posted, and the county later added a January 7, 2020 update titled “10 Steps to Broadband Internet Initiatives.”
County staff and supervisors met with several providers. In 2018, SCS Broadband submitted an unsolicited PPEA broadband expansion proposal, and the Board voted to consider it. Goochland also worked with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Firefly Fiber Broadband on a USDA ReConnect application covering significant portions of western Goochland.
The biggest construction push is tied to Firefly’s RISE project, a $288 million effort to bring universal gigabit broadband to 36,000 unserved homes and businesses across 13 Central Virginia counties. Participating counties contributed a combined $33.5 million, and the fiber build will stretch about 4,000 miles over roughly three years. The ReConnect-funded project area in the county will be 100% underground.
While the long buildout continues, the county has also set up public Wi-Fi hotspots at the administration building, county schools, the Central High Cultural and Educational Complex, the Goochland Branch Library, Hidden Rock Park, Leakes Mill Park, several fire-rescue stations and churches. Users should select Public Wi-Fi, and the hotspot locations are monitored by security cameras.
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