After 18 months, an agreement is nearly finalized for a $30.5 million fiber-to-home project across unserved areas in Culpeper County, VA. The Culpeper Star Exponent reported the project would extend broadband to nearly 4,300 people, including 2,400 low-to-moderate-income residents.
The network will include around 536 miles of distribution fiber. According to the Star Exponent, 378 miles will be built by All Points, and Dominion Power will construct approximately 58 miles.
All Points will fund $12.4 million of the project, and Culpeper County will contribute $6.6 million using federal pandemic relief funds. According to grant administrator Laura Loveday, the state gave the county and the broadband company 90 days to complete several tasks before awarding the funds, including approving a contract for the work.
One sticking point in contract negotiations is that All Points wants payment from the county within 10 days of submitting invoices. County Attorney Bobbi Jo Alexis said the county would remit payment to All Points “as soon as we get that thumbs-up” from the state to use grant funds.
The Star Exponent reported that All Points received eight state contracts totaling $214 million, including the largest VATI award of more than $95 million. All Points had so many awards in the most recent round of VATI grants it put Culpeper County at the bottom for meeting with the state about contract negotiations, added Loveday.
The state deadline to finalize the contract is April 25. According to Loveday, the project timeline for completion is 18 months, and she’s hopeful construction will begin once the agreement is finalized.
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