On 3/16/2021, Executive Council members of LBA had the pleasure of introducing the Loudoun Broadband Alliance to Evan Feinman, Governor Northam’s Chief Broadband Advisor. Mr. Feinman previously served as Executive Director of the Commonwealth’s Tobacco Revitalization Commission, where he spearheaded several innovative and successful rural development programs.
Among the many programs Mr. Feinman is an advocate for is the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) which was where our conversation gravitated towards pretty quickly. For those who aren’t familiar, VATI provides “financial assistance to supplement construction costs by private sector providers to extend services to areas that are presently unserved by any broadband provider”.
Mr. Feinman shared some great insights into the VATI program and explained to us what has been the “winning formula” for projects awarded VATI funding – many, of which, are already under construction. According to Mr. Feinman, “projects with the greatest chance of success in the VATI program have included a utility company partner, an internet service provider and the County/Town as co-applicant”. In this joint venture, the utility company partner provides the middle mile fiber which can be subsidized by the Pilot program for broadband capacity to unserved areas of the Commonwealth also known as Utility Leverage Program. The last mile is provided by the ISP and partially subsidized by VATI.
LBA discussed with Mr. Feinman the current broadband RFI issued by Loudoun County. That RFI solicits interested parties to co-apply to the VATI program. Mr. Feinman encouraged interested parties to contact the VATI program office at the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for assistance. Mr. Feinman also shared other helpful resources such as the state’s Commonwealth Connect website. This initiative is a comprehensive effort to achieve universal broadband access, a goal set by Governor Ralph Northam in July 2018. The website includes a Broadband Toolkit which provides additional resources to assist with implementation of universal broadband coverage.
Mr. Feinman provided insight on some frequently asked questions about the VATI program:
Q: What might a typical timeline look like for a project in Loudoun County?
A: While VATI allows for up to 18 months, Mr. Feinman expects a project in Loudoun county to be given an expected duration of 12 months.
Q: Are there other avenues of submitting VATI applications should Loudoun County decide not to participate?
A: While there shouldn’t be anything stopping Loudoun County from submitting its own applications, Mr. Feinman mentioned there are other ways that co-applicants can partner with a Town or other jurisdiction (neighboring county as a regional project).
Q: What are other possible sources of revenue to help subsidize broadband deployment projects?
A: Mr. Feinman mentioned that the County could pursue a Broadband Tax District to fund bonds or pursue other methods should they decide to do so.
LBA thanks Evan Feinman for his insight and time spent educating LBA and its supporters and we look forward to continuing conversations.
References:
Virginia Telecommunication Initiative
Utility Leverage Program/Broadband Pilot Program (Dominion Energy)
Utility Leverage Program/Broadband Pilot Program (Commonwealth Statute)