Construction is now under way to expand and improve broadband to nearly 2,700 locations in Craig County, Va. TDS Telecom (TDS®) began work in January in the New Castle Telephone Company coverage area. Construction is expected to be complete by summer 2018.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated an average of $2.3 million a year for the next 10 years to reach residents in some of the hardest to serve areas in Virginia. The funding will also be used to maintain a voice and broadband network as well as building out to these locations. The FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) will provide funding to 1,267 locations and the remaining customers will also receive benefits from this network upgrade.
Virginia residents can visit the TDS website to find out how this federal program may impact their location.
Depending on location, most TDS customers in eligible rural areas will receive guaranteed broadband speeds of 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3). Under the agreement with the FCC, the remaining customers will receive broadband service at lower speeds of 10/1 and 4/1Mbps.
“We are proud to be part of this massive modernization project with the FCC,” said Tom McCabe, manager – State Government Affairs at TDS. “We are eager to begin work to build faster connections to more than 5,200 locations in Virginia.”
In January, TDS announced it elected to receive approximately $75.1 million a year to increase broadband access in 25 states from the FCC’s A-CAM, under the Connect America Fund (CAF) program. TDS will leverage the funds over the next 10 years to support the buildout of rural broadband networks to nearly 160,000 locations across the country.
TDS has been doing business in Virginia since 1974 and owns three telephone companies in the state. TDS employs 13 people in Virginia.
-Submitted by Suzanne Abbott Holth
