Today Loudoun County issued an RFI soliciting ISPs to express their interest in co-applying with the county for grants to expand access to broadband in the county.
During the February 2, 2021 Board of Supervisors business meeting, county staff reported a plan to seek partners to co-apply for the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grant with the intent to expand broadband access in Loudoun County. The plan suggested that co-applicants would be identified in January, but that plan was delayed until today’s issuance of an RFI.
County staff, in a push to meet the September 14, 2021 VATI application deadline, has published an aggressive schedule for this RFI, setting a deadline of April 7, 2021 for responses to be submitted.
Loudoun Broadband Alliance is encouraged by this action and is optimistic that this could be good news for Loudoun County residents and businesses. LBA thanks Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and Loudoun County staff for the effort they are putting into finding a solution to this important issue.
The RFI can be found on the Loudoun County website:
https://www.loudoun.gov/broadband
The RFI is found at this link:
https://www.loudoun.gov/DocumentCenter/View/164579/Loudoun-County-VATI-RFI
The RFI questions and response spreadsheet can be found at this link:
https://www.loudoun.gov/DocumentCenter/View/164580/VATI-RFI-Section-2-Scope-of-Work-Requirements