Lynchburg Business

$16 Million Given to Expand Broadband to K-12 Schools

Issue: July 2010 by Lynchburg Business in In the News

Children and teachers at 121 K-12 schools in Southern Virginia will soon have broadband Internet speeds 10 to 1,000 times faster than what they have today thanks to a $16 million federal grant presented by Congressman Tom Perriello to Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC) to expand service through 465 miles of new fiber optic cable.

Congressman Perriello selected Rustburg Elementary School as the location to present the check in early June to Region 2000’s Bryan David who serves on the MBC Board of Directors. School officials say that expanded coverage will enable them to do more testing online and help them deliver added education services that require faster speeds.

Delegate Kathy Byron, a key member of the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, was also on hand to discuss the investment the Commission makes to revitalizing Southside and Southwest Virginia’s economy. The Commission provided an additional $4 million as a match to the grant. As a result of this work, each school being wired with the new fiber optic cable will have the ability to acquire advanced telecom connectivity within about 18 months from now.