300 miles of broadband down for rural Va. Shore — 1,200 miles to go

Accomack officials praised the Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority's performance, after its acting director on Wednesday updated the Accomack County Board of Supervisors on recent initiatives.

The authority "is considered the model in the state of Virginia," said outgoing Chairman Robert Crockett, citing comments made on recent occasions by both Sen. Lynwood Lewis and Delegate Robert Bloxom.

"Ours is one of only two or three that are operating in the black," out of around two dozen broadband authorities in the state, Crockett said, adding, "You all are doing an outstanding job."

The broadband authority, created in 2008 in a joint resolution by Accomack and Northampton counties, is a public authority.

"We operate similar to a utility," said Robert Bridgham, acting executive director.

The authority since then has installed around 300 miles of fiber on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

"We've got 1,200 to go," he said.

The authority started out with grants and with funding from Accomack and Northampton counties, which it has since repaid — but "today, we self-fund whatever we do," Bridgham said.

Michael Mason, Accomack County administrator, said the authority has made "several key decisions" over the last couple of months.

Supervisor Donald L. Hart Jr. said, "We have something very, very valuable here" in the authority — and he warned, "We've got people right now who are trying to do backdoor things, trying to get their hands on this. Hopefully, the broadband authority will be protected, and hopefully Accomack County will protect them, because we have some, who are supposedly dear friends and neighbors, who are trying to do little deals so they can feather their own little nests."

The authority has reduced its prices each of the last four years, Bridgham said, adding its pricing is on par with or lower than that of Maryland Broadband and Mid-Atlantic Broadband, two nearby entities.

The authority currently has 11 free Wi-Fi hotspots in service on the Virginia Shore — at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel rest area; Custis Park; Accomack County Airport; the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce; Sawmill Park in Accomac; Mary N. Smith Center; Indian Town Park; Chincoteague's Robert Reed Park; Exmore Town Park; Bloxom, at the authority's tower; and the pavilion in downtown Parksley.

Two additional sites are in the works, at Cape Charles Park and the Welcome Center on Route 13 in New Church.

Bridgham also reported on the authority's Broadband Initiative Program, available to incorporated towns.

More:High-speed internet service to reach more Virginia Shore towns

More:Virginia Governor-elect Ralph Northam talks Shore roots, priorities for rural Virginia

Designed to help service providers serve residential and small business customers in towns on the authority's network, it offered free internet and transport for 12 months.

Cape Charles, Cheriton, Exmore, Parksley, Bloxom, Hallwood, Chincoteague, Belle Haven and Nassawadox have participated in the program, and Hallwood and Bloxom are still active with service providers, according to Bridgham.

In another program, the authority reduced the cost of Ethernet transport by around 87 percent for wireless internet service providers. The pricing initiative was developed to help wireless providers have an affordable way to provide broadband service to less populated areas, Bridgham said.

There are 29 Ethernet Virtual Private Line sites active at present among the three wireless internet service providers operating on Virginia's Eastern Shore, he said.

Additionally, the authority in the last 18 to 24 months completed "large extensions" of its fiber network in its fiber-to-the-home initiative, Bridgham told the board.

"We built down to Quinby, then over to Wachapreague. We built out to Cheapside, Oyster, Harborton, Greenbackville, Sanford, and this summer we finished our Church Neck extension," Bridgham said.

In September 2016, the authority board of directors approved pricing for a trial of fiber-to-the-home in Harborton.

"Today, we have about 17 1/2 percent of Harborton customers served" — that's about 21 homes, he said, adding four more are signed up.

"We feel like we've been very successful. It's been financially affordable ... we think we can continue to do this," without going to external sources for funds, Bridgham said.

In March 2017 the authority extended the program to parts of Bobtown and Pungoteague and the Church Neck area.

The authority at present is serving close to 6 percent of the Bobtown/Pungoteague area, with two orders in progress, and almost 12 percent of Church Neck, with another two orders in progress.

"People are very, very pleased with it," he said.

On Dec. 15, the board of directors approved an additional buildout of fiber-to-the-home in several more areas.

The first four will be Sanford, including Saxis Road all the way from Route 13 to the town of Sanford; Cheapside; Cobb Station Road near Cape Charles; and the town of Accomac, which will include Greenbush, Drummondtown Road and part of Tasley.

READ MORE: Chincoteague museum had 12,000 visitors in 2017

The expansion will mean 888 more homes will have access to broadband, according to the authority.

The action on Dec. 15 also authorized additional funds "to allow us to continue to open up areas as the ESVBA staff can support it," to eventually open up "all areas of our backbone to be able to support fiber-to-the-home, where we have fiber today," Bridgham said.

"But we are not going to stop there — that is just phase one," he said.

The authority is working on "how do we get to the next folks — how do we get to the next street over, how do we get to the next town over," Bridgham said, adding the authority is working to identify funding sources and appropriate areas.

Supervisor Ron Wolff asked what the authority's plans are to extend fiber into the more remote parts of the Shore.

Bridgham said the challenge is the expense of constructing fiber — around $20,000 a mile.

"It comes down to funding — if we had a lot of money, and I mean lots and lots of money — I'd build it in a couple of years, but when it comes down to trying to be scalable and sustainable, the organization has to take an approach that's reasonable," he said, adding, "People don't like that answer — they want it all now. We're trying to get it there as quickly as we can."

On Twitter @cvvaughnESN

443-260-3314