STAFFORD– Residents and Stafford officials are looking at new ways to bring broadband internet to underserved rural areas of the county.
The Marlborough Point, Hartwood, and Widewater areas of Stafford County have few options for broadband Internet and unreliable cell phone service, according to Stafford Aquia District Supervisor Cindy Shelton.
A wireless broadband company from neighboring King George County aims to change that.
A team from KGI Communications, including their CEO Juan Marte, spoke at a recent roundtable meeting at Stafford Hospital hosted by Shelton about the potential to bring broadband to some residents immediately.
KGI Communications is a WISP, or wireless Internet service provider. The team explained that they can provide high-speed internet with true speeds of up to 200 Mbps, nearly as fast as Comcast’s highest tier of internet speed. The company would beam a dedicated wireless signal into each customer’s home.
Currently, KGI Communications could bring wireless internet service to 84 households in Marlborough point using only their current infrastructure. They said they could have service turned on as quickly as 1 month after they have the signed commitment of 80 households to use their service.
KGI Communications would need to respond to a request for information that will come out during a state grant application process to receive grant money and build more infrastructure that would service more homes.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has made connecting rural communities to the web a priority for his administration.
During the roundtable, Shelton said that because this issue deals with private enterprise there are “…pieces I can’t do as a supervisor, but can do because I’m a citizen and I care.”
Delegate Bob Thomas (R-28, Fredericksburg, Stafford) brought forward the idea of applying for grants to bring broadband service to all of Stafford County.
Thomas said grant money is being dedicated to solving the broadband shortage because it is affecting our community, particularly school-aged children.
“I continue to push the fact that there’s no reason student A should have an advantage over student B because it’s a real problem when you go home at night and your student can’t access those resources,” said Thomas.
Currently, Marlborough Point, Hartwood, and Widewater have been identified to be focus points when applying for grant money.
Shelton discussed the results of a recent survey of residents pertaining to broadband service. In order to bring Comcast service at no additional charge to residents, the community needed to have enough respondents who indicated they would use Comcast service.
“Right now we don’t have enough density,” Shelton said about bringing Comcast service to Marlboro Point. Residents of Marlboro Point would have to pay around $20,000 per household to have the option of Comcast service. “Options to get broadband service in this area are limited,” said Shelton.
Verizon does not serve the area, added Shelton.
