24 summit session entitled, “Who Will Connect America’s Broadband,” where panelists including Sheryl Riggs, CEO at the Utilities Technology Council (UTC), endorsed additional utility broadband deployments. “This includes both rural communities and municipalities that are striving to ensure that their citizens - particularly during this pandemic - are afforded the same level of internet services as their large suburban and urban peers.” “Electric utilities have a unique role to play in connecting consumers to broadband, particularly in those areas where the incumbent telcos do not believe that their investments would be justified,” said consultant Heather Gold, president and CEO at HBG Strategies LLC, during a recent session at the virtual Broadband Communities 2020 Summit. The proposal includes nearly 300 miles of middle-mile fiber and would cost approximately $29 million to construct, according to Cannon. With support from the Virginia General Assembly and in collaboration with electric cooperatives and ISPs, the proposed Rural Broadband Pilot projects will extend broadband internet to citizens in Surry County, Botetourt County, and the Northern Neck of Virginia if approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). “We hope these partnerships are the first of many, and we’re optimistic about how much these efforts could help rural communities here in our home state,” she said. “We are committed to the communities we serve and know that access to broadband will support economic development, social equity and educational opportunities for citizens of the Commonwealth. “With so many Virginians working and learning from home due to COVID-19, access to reliable internet is an absolute necessity,” said Cannon. It’s a win-win partnership for power companies, which are already updating their existing infrastructure, and for ISPs, which call fiber optic network buildouts too pricey, especially in rural, less-populated communities across America.ĭominion Energy Virginia, for instance, last month unveiled three proposed pilot projects to help residents in rural parts of the state gain access to broadband internet critical for jobs, healthcare and education, Dominion Energy spokeswoman Audrey Cannon told Daily Energy Insider. Fiber optic lines being installed along power lines as part of an electric utility’s grid modernization will enable power companies to help build statewide systems that permit internet service providers (ISPs) to then hook up unserved and under-served broadband customers.