THE STATE OF BROADBAND IN RURAL LOUDOUN COUNTY
The list of Internet service options in rural Loudoun county include cable, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), DSL, fixed wireless, cellular wireless and satellite.
While this seems like a wide range of options, the reality is that the cable and FTTH options are limited to the incorporated towns and a few select subdivisions along existing cable routes. Similarly, DSL access is only available in small enclaves that are close enough to a DSL access point. The wireless options are limited by the topography of the county and the limited number of towers available to these providers.
With the exception of the isolated cable and FTTH options, none of the available providers offer an affordable and widely available service that meets the federal definition of Broadband Internet access (25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload). All of the options are expensive compared to the options available in a suburban area. The typical rural home is paying twice as much as a suburban home, but receives one half to one third of the download speed compared to the suburban home, and the reliability of the rural options is much lower.
The impact of this situation is that rural residents pay more for substandard service, and are forced to seek out alternative options for Internet access while they work remotely and their children are attending school online.
*The above section is LBA’s review of events based on public information available from Loudoun County at www.loudoun.gov.*