Virginia to receive $220M for broadband expansion

Virginia is eligible to receive $219,812,354 from the American Rescue Plan to support broadband expansion in the Commonwealth.

The funding is the result of a $10 billion investment Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) secured in the American Rescue Plan that will help states, territories and tribal governments carry out critical capital projects to enable telework, online education, and tele-health in connection with COVID-19.

State governments will also be permitted to use funds to increase broadband efficiency and reduce the costs of providing broadband services.

“Broadband is to the 21st century what electrification was to the 20th. The COVID-19 crisis exposed that far too many Americans are being left behind without access to high-speed internet for work, school or telehealth. That’s why I fought to secure a record $10 billion in federal funding to expand broadband access and affordability as part of the American Rescue Plan,” Sen. Warner said. “Today the Treasury Department announced that Virginia will be eligible to receive at least $220 million of this funding in order to expand broadband to households across the Commonwealth.”

More information from the Treasury announcement today is available here.