RADFORD, Va. – Exciting news for Radford City. On Tuesday the first Radford residents were able to connect to high-speed internet from Xfinity.
In December 2024, Comcast began construction on its network expansion project into Radford. On Nov. 4, 2025, the first homes connected to the network.
“It’s just in one portion of the city — the easternmost section, the Plum Creek area — for the time being,” Radford Mayor David Horton said. “But they are planning to build out, according to their representatives talking to the city, over the next two or three years to get full citywide coverage of a fiber-optic-based system.”
Once finished, nearly 10,000 Radford homes and businesses will have access to Xfinity’s network. This will make a major difference to the community, which for years has had few internet service providers outside of Shentel.
“While we had good service, we didn’t have a strong fiber-optic network,” Horton said. “Now Xfinity has launched this network, and we have another provider launching a fiber-optic network over the next couple of years. That is great news for Radford businesses and citizens.”
Radford resident Carlee Lehman said she’s excited to finally have more options.
“I’m really happy there’s finally some competition,” Lehman said. “Shentel has been extremely expensive every time I’ve looked. I actually had to look for a personal hotspot device instead of paying Shentel the enormous amount they are charging, because I just can’t afford to have internet at that cost. I mean, it’s like an eighth of my rent to have Wi-Fi in my house.”
New River Valley resident Paige Kenney agreed.
“Shentel was the only thing that was in here, so it’s the only thing you could have,” Kenney said. “There was no competition for them, so they didn’t have the motivation to improve anything.”
Fairlawn resident Woody Altizer said the new provider is long overdue.
“Shentel has kind of had the run of the mill around here for the past 20, 25 years,” Altizer said. “I won’t say the service has been great, but I won’t say it’s been terrible. But they need some competition — I need somebody else to pick from.”
In a world increasingly reliant on the internet, access to higher speeds at cheaper prices is a great asset.
“Everybody needs it for everything they do,” Lehman said. “To find a job, you have to have the internet. And some people don’t have cars to get somewhere that does have internet, so you’ve got to have it at your house.”
“It’s clear that high-speed internet access is crucial to the 21st century — for jobs, for education, for opportunities,” Horton said. “We think having a fiber-based system, in addition to the other pieces that are around, is going to help Radford folks succeed in immeasurable ways.”
Comcast’s network expansion plan is expected to be fully completed in 2028, but new homes and businesses will gain access to Comcast’s internet, cable and mobile services as construction continues.