High-speed internet to expand to over 14,000 places in Pittsylvania County

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - Members of the community along with state and local representatives gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at the Riceville-Java Volunteer Fire Department – future home to a RiverStreet Networks remote location.

The partnership between Pittsylvania County and RiverStreet Networks will supply more than 14,000 homes with high-speed internet.

“When we put that fiber to their home, we get a Wi-Fi router,” said Eric Cramer, CEO of RiverStreet Networks. “Then, they have access to the highest speed you could possibly get, just like if you’re in Richmond or any metropolitan city, out here in the most rural areas of Virginia.”

The $85 million project was funded by federal, state, and local organizations.

“The big boys don’t want to be involved in the rural areas because it will never pay off,” said State Senator Frank Ruff (R-15). “So, having that investment from the government makes it possible.”

Construction has already started, and installation will begin first in Renan and Sandy Level. They will then move south to the Java area, where resident Carl Adams is looking forward to what is usually taken for granted.

“Being able to sit at home and just pull up whatever I want to pull up and talk to the kids in Lynchburg or the kid in Raleigh and being able to FaceTime with them and stuff like that,” said Adams. “I have to go to Chatham where I have a big signal to transfer the pictures. I can’t transfer them at home.”

“They’ll all have the opportunity to do stuff that the people in the town get to do,” explained Darrell Dalton, Chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. “The services, their kids going to school, all of this is going to be a plus.”

They plan to complete the project in three years.

The map of progress and future installations can be found online.

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