Buckingham, Virginia — On Thursday, August 28, Firefly Fiber Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, hosted an event at the Buckingham Agricultural Resource Network to celebrate the progress of rural broadband connections in the region. They were joined by officials from Appomattox, Buckingham, and Cumberland counties, as well as project partners and Firefly leadership and Board members.
U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner, an avid supporter of broadband expansion in Virginia, joined the line-up of speakers and expressed his enthusiasm for the partnerships that resulted in the successful deployment of fiber broadband locally. Addressing the county leaders in attendance, “You had to have courage, in Appomattox, Buckingham, and Cumberland, to go ahead and make that decision. Your community is going to benefit from this for decades to come.” In support of the fiber project expansion, he stated, “You shouldn’t have to leave your hometown to find a world-class job. Broadband is a core service along with water and electricity. In the 21st century in America, where you choose to live shouldn’t be a detriment to your life. This connectivity is very important.”
During the program, officials from each county addressed the crowd and shared how fiber has positively impacted their citizens. Buckingham County Board Chairman Joe Chambers, Jr. warmly welcomed all guests, saying, “Thank you for coming to our county. We hear about the good things you are doing here and we thank you.”
Appomattox County Vice-Chairman of the Board, Reverend Al Jones, expressed gratitude, stating, “Thank you, Firefly, for all you have done. Our young people, for whom you have leveled the playing field, thank you. Appomattox was a pioneer in supporting Firefly, and that investment has paid off.”
Cumberland County Board Supervisor, Bryan Hamlet, emphasized the challenges faced by rural families, saying, “For far too long, families in Cumberland have faced challenges our friends in urban areas rarely think about. Students struggled to complete homework without reliable internet, small businesses missed opportunities because they could not compete online, and farmers lacked access to modern tools that could help improve efficiency and productivity. Cumberland County is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors in Appomattox and Buckingham as we take this important step forward together – this is regional progress.”
Firefly’s customers also shared testimonials about their service. Jimmy Lakes of Appomattox described the many ways his family, spread across 11 homes within a two-mile radius, uses Firefly in their daily lives, including his grandchildren who visit, his wife who works from home, and his in-laws who have safety monitoring devices. This large family of Firefly customers agrees, “Firefly is the best thing since sliced bread!”
Dr. Tamarah Holmes, Director of the Office of Broadband, thanked Firefly for their work in expanding broadband across 13 counties. “After COVID started, I was on a webinar with IT Directors from area schools (...) they wanted to know when students would get access to broadband. I told him then that the children who are in kindergarten today will have access to broadband by the time they are in second grade. Thanks to Firefly and the work they have done, those students now have access to broadband.”
The Bridge Ministry, based in Buckingham, is an inpatient behavioral health program for men with life-controlling issues such as addiction, addictive behavior, and mental health challenges. Due to travel conflicts, they could not attend in-person but sent a testimony of how Firefly has improved their operation and helps to keep their participants free from negative associations outside the campus. “Now that we have Firefly, we are able to efficiently operate an intricate security system of surveillance cameras and alarm protections on multiple buildings to keep our participants safe.”
Gary Wood, Firefly President and CEO, highlighted the three ways that Firefly is unique. “First, we are built for rural areas. Second, is our emphasis on service – we want to offer great service. Finally, we build for the future. Not just good enough for today, but we build a system that will last for many years to come.”
Guests were treated to a lunch buffet graciously provided by S&N Communications, Firefly’s sole construction partner, who has built every foot of fiber in this project spanning 7,000 miles.
Launched in 2021, Firefly’s Regional Internet Service Expansion (RISE) Project aims to extend broadband service beyond CVEC’s territory into underserved areas of 13 counties: Albemarle, Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Powhatan. Through strategic partnerships with Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Dominion Energy Virginia, and local county leadership, the RISE Project is on track to bring high-speed internet to more than 70,000 locations.
Firefly is also the internet service provider (ISP) for the CVEC fiber build, a $130 million plan that installed over 4,500 miles of fiber-optic cable in the 14 counties it serves, providing broadband internet access to all of its 39,000 members. The fiber network, completed in 2022, moves data at speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, delivering world-class communications to CVEC members.
Firefly achieved the milestone of connecting 40,000 customers in August and celebrated its 7th year in business at the end of July. For more information about areas included in this build and for pricing on internet and phone packages, visit fireflyva.com.
About Firefly Fiber Broadband
Headquartered in Palmyra, VA, Firefly Fiber BroadbandSM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and serves over 40,000 customers. Firefly offers lightning-fast internet via fiber to the premise that is reliable and priced fairly with no hidden equipment costs or special introductory pricing that increases the base cost of phone or internet later. Firefly has no contracts, no data caps, or slowdowns, and offers symmetrical upload and download speeds. Firefly Light offers 100 Mbps for $49.99; Firefly Flash offers 1 Gbps for $79.99, and Firefly Voice is $34.99 with a $5 discount when bundled with the internet. For more information, visit the Firefly website.
About Central Virginia Electric Cooperative Central Virginia
Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit, electric utility serving 39,000 homes, farms, and businesses in the rural portions of 14 Virginia counties. CVEC connects its members and communities through reliable power and broadband services, delivering world-class, high-speed internet service through its subsidiary, Firefly Fiber BroadbandSM. CVEC and its subsidiary are equal opportunity providers and employers. For more information, visit the CVEC website.
