Rural residents of Spotsylvania County have access to expanded 5G high-speed internet service thanks to the county’s new partnership with DataStream Broadband, Incorporated, marking the first time 5G service is offered in rural Virginia. Broadband services are now available in the Wilderness and Belmont areas of the county.
The county held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Wilderness radio tower site in western Spotsylvania. Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisor Chairman Kevin Marshall, 7th District Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, and DataStream President & CEO Sean Lee, were on hand to offer remarks about the success of this endeavor, and its positive impact on the community.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for high-speed access for those working from home professionally, for remote education, telemedicine and small business. With DataStream services that work to bridge the digital divide throughout the county, rural communities are gaining access to important services and are able to participate in our increasingly digital society and economy.
“County staff has been working very hard to obtain this coverage and we’re finally going to have reliable broadband coverage in our rural communities,”said Marshall. “Broadband should be treated like any other utility, such as water and electricity. For the residents of my district in Berkeley and the Livingston district, this is something we’ve been looking forward to, needed for a long time and is great for our educational system.
The state, through COVID-19 Recovery Act funding, recognized the increased importance of broadband expansion in light of the pandemic and allocated funding for eligible projects. Spotsylvania County was successful in receiving sufficient funding to support DataStream’s plans to move directly from their planned LTE implementation to 5G technology, which provides internet speeds that meet and exceed FCC guidelines.
Photo courtesy Spotsylvania County
