Wittman hosts Community Broadband Field Seminar in Stafford

Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) hosted his third Community Broadband Field Seminar in Stafford County this week as an opportunity for underserved and unserved communities and neighborhoods within the area to learn more about the funding and resources available at the state and federal levels to help bring broadband to their citizens.

Wittman has served as a leader in both Virginia and in Congress to close the digital divide and bring broadband to the unserved populations of America. Whether through his leadership as a Co-Chair of the House Rural Broadband Caucus or on the First District Rural Broadband Task Force, Congressman Wittman has made broadband expansion a top priority.

“For me, the issue of rural broadband dates back more than 20 years to my time on Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors,” said Wittman. “Demand for high speed broadband has never been greater; closing the digital divide is the key to lifting up countless communities and populations in unserved areas. While Congress has made great strides in tackling this issue, more can and should be done. I am hosting these seminars to provide an important opportunity for localities to learn the resources available to them and to make broadband access a reality for these communities.”

As part of his continued efforts on this issue, Congressman Wittman brought in representatives from the Governor’s Chief Broadband Advisor’s office to the area to provide a briefing on the state broadband grant program, the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, and other state and federal agency broadband funding programs. The briefing served as an opportunity for representatives from the Governor’s Chief Broadband Advisor’s office to discuss their broadband digital toolkit, which serves as an all-encompassing resource to better inform communities about the resources available on applying for broadband expansion funding and best steps to take to better position themselves for state and federal funding. Attendees also heard from a County Telecommunications Commission representative.

Attendees included Evan Feinman, Governor’s Chief Broadband Advisor; Courtney Dozier, Governor’s Deputy Chief Broadband Advisor; Cindy Shelton, Aquia District Supervisor, who helped organize the event; Jack Cavalier, Griffis-Widewater District Supervisor; and local residents.