Work has begun to lay the last miles of fiber cabling that will connect about 8,000 Hanover County residences and businesses to new broadband internet service.
County officials celebrated the achievement with a ceremonial groundbreaking Nov. 20 at the Old Church Community Center in Mechanicsville alongside state, local and private partners on the project.
“I've said before that I believe that the United States is the greatest country in the history of the world, and I also believe Hanover is the best place to live,” Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Michael Herzberg said. “But we do have a gap, and this work today helps to fill that gap.”
The county launched the Connect Hanover initiative in 2021 to bring internet access to underserved parts of rural Hanover. The project began with a $14 million grant from the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative under former Gov. Ralph Northam.
That grant was supplemented by nearly $15 million in county funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and over $26 million in private investment from partners like All Points Broadband, Dominion Energy and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.
Hanover was able to map the areas where underserved residents were located through a series of surveys and studies, but ran into several challenges in delivering internet access to those places. County leaders sought extensions for the initiative in April and identified supplemental funding opportunities to expand broadband access to hard-to-reach areas.
Multiple delays and technical obstacles occurred while trying to install fiber wiring above and below ground to reach more isolated parts of the county. Obstacles included the need for new utility poles and new benchmarks for high-speed internet access set by theFederal Communications Commission that required adjustments.
All Points, a Virginia-based internet service provider, will install about 550 miles of fiber optic wiring to bring service to 6,200 residences and businesses in eastern Hanover.
All Points CEO Jimmy Carr praised Hanover’s commitment to the project.
“Hanover County has provided more local matching funds to this particular project than any jurisdiction in the state.” Carr said. “The commitment is real. The county team has actively engaged with us — and has been from the very beginning — to identify and overcome obstacles or challenges as they’ve arisen.”
State Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, told VPM News that the COVID-19 pandemic opened county leaders' eyes to the immediate needs of their constituents.
“We really saw through the pandemic how important it is for individuals to have access to the internet,” McDougle said. “They need it for work, they need it for school and they need it for things like medical appointments and being able to communicate.”
“I'm excited that we talked about this over four years ago, that we've been able to put it into action,” McDougle added. “Now we will see all Hanoverians, at the end of this project, have access to technology so that they can work, educate their children and be able to live productive lives.”
Construction for this final phase of Connect Hanover is estimated to take 18 to 24 months, but some residents could get access to new internet service as early as February.
“This has been a project that has been long in the works, and as we wrap, it is now time to deliver on … the commitment to our residents to provide high speed internet throughout Hanover County,” County Administrator John Budesky said.
