Leveraging private sector funding for next generation rural broadband technologies

RICHMOND, VA – The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC), in conjunction with the Virginia Tobacco Commission (VTC), has awarded five projects to private sector broadband providers to test various approaches for enabling broadband expansion in rural markets. The initial pilot program will fund rural broadband deployment in Stuart, VA; Altavista, VA; Appomattox, VA; Brookneal, VA and Lawrenceville, VA.

VTC provided $1 million in 50% matching capital funds to encourage private sector telecommunications companies to invest in infrastructure to serve the “last mile”. As a result of this program, over 7,000 households and businesses will have access to advanced high speed Internet services provided by private sector telecom companies. MBC selected the following companies to build, operate and maintain broadband networks in the pilot communities:

• Digital Bridge Communications (Ashburn, VA): Deploying WiMax broadband network in Appomattox to serve over 1,600 business and residential households
• Citizens Telephone Cooperative (Floyd, VA): Deploying 700Mhz wireless network in Stuart, whose signal will cover over 1,000 business and residential households
• Gamewood, Inc. (Danville, VA): Deploying 900Mhz wireless network in Altavista/Pittsylvania County to serve 500 business and residential households
• Embarq Corporation (Charlottesville, VA): Deploying expanded High Speed Internet (HSI) services in Stuart/Patrick County to serve over 3,000 business and residential households.
• Telpage, Inc. (Emporia, VA): Deploying a fixed wireless broadband network in Lawrenceville, VA to serve over 700 business and residential households
• Pure Internet, Inc. (Halifax, VA): Deploying a wireless broadband network in Brookneal, VA to serve over 300 business and residential households

“The private sector has responded in a big way to help increase broadband coverage in our region and allow us to evaluate various business models and technologies for last-mile broadband deployment,” commented MBC General Manager, Tad Deriso. “With the mix of technologies, service providers, and business models, we’re anxious to evaluate the results of this program and help our members and the VTC expand on the program’s successes.”

MBC is a not-for-profit cooperative established with funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The MBC network is an advanced open-access wholesale optical transport network and is focused on accelerating economic development in rural and underserved areas by making Internet and telecom connectivity more affordable, diverse and scalable for telecommunications service providers.

“We’ve taken an aggressive leadership role and instead of talking about and studying the rural broadband problem, we’re doing something proactive to solve the problem,” said Delegate Clarke Hogan, Chairman of the VTC Technology Committee. “As we enter a new era of technology access for Southside Virginia, we believe that our last-mile broadband pilot program will play an important role in enabling the private sector to bring these broadband services affordably to our underserved areas.”
For further information:

For MBC:
Tad Deriso, General Manager
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative
(804) 786-7692
tad@mbc-va.com

For Virginia Tobacco Commission:
Neal Noyes, Executive Director
Virginia Tobacco Commission
(804) 786-2272
neal.noyes@tic.virginia.gov

About MBC
MBC is charged with implementing the Regional Backbone Initiative for Southside Virginia. MBC provides open-access optical transport services to telecom service providers, and offers a unique value proposition for competitive telecom providers looking to expand their service area and serve enterprise customers in rural Virginia. MBC offers Metro Ethernet services, TDM-based services, dark fiber, and collocation to over 60 business, industrial and technology parks in South Central Virginia, as well as interconnections with key carrier points of presence in the eastern United States. For more information, please visit www.mbc-va.com.

About Virginia Tobacco Commission
The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is a 31-member body created by the 1999 General Assembly. It has, as a significant part of its mission, the promotion of economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities. To date, the Commission has awarded 833 grants totaling more than $332 million across the tobacco region of the Commonwealth. For complete information on all of the Commission’s history, mission, funding programs and past awards, visit their website at www.vatobaccocommission.or

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