GILES COUNTY, Va. – In a small mountain community where dial-up speeds are still a reality for some, a big change is finally on the horizon.
On Thursday, state and local leaders gathered at the White Gate Community Center in Giles County to officially break ground on a $5.5 million broadband expansion project. The effort promises to deliver high-speed internet to more than 600 homes in some of the region’s most rural areas—many of which have never had reliable access.
Giles County Administrator Chris McKlarney called the project “critical” to the county’s future.
“Broadband now has become such an integrated part of everyone’s life,” McKlarney said. “Everything from kids that are in school, people who want to work from home, and telehealth. And to people buying their groceries, everything is done via broadband. So, in a community that literally has none available, it’s important for us to try to make that happen.”
Funded in part through a $4.2 million grant from the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI), and supported by more than $1.3 million in matching funds, the project will lay over 100 miles of new fiber across Giles County. Internet provider PemTel will lead the infrastructure build, with service expected to reach Staffordsville, Poplar Hill, Wilburn Valley, Walker Creek, and surrounding areas.
Congressman Morgan Griffith (Rep. 9th District of Virginia), who spoke at the event, emphasized the urgency of broadband access in today’s digital economy.
“Should you have something happen at the schools, like COVID, or even like what we’ve seen recently in the Allegheny Highlands, where one of the schools had a problem, they say, okay, we’re going to go remote. Well, that means these kids that live in this area without this broadband, they can’t go remote,” Griffith said. “Then you talk about small businesses. It’s important to celebrate the fact that the local government, the state government, there’s some federal money in it too — everybody’s come together to try to get broadband service to everyone.”
Construction is scheduled to begin in June and is expected to be completed by fall 2026.