Palmyra, Virginia — Firefly Fiber Broadband, a local internet service provider (ISP) and wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, will expand its planned fiber network to deliver world class broadband connectivity to an additional 672 locations in western Madison County through an agreement with Brightspeed, 1 of the nation’s largest fiber broadband builders focused on empowering more homes with ultrafast, reliable internet.
The 2 companies have agreed to pursue a transfer of obligations for an area previously awarded to Brightspeed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction. Firefly will include the area along with previously announced buildouts supported by the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) grant program which announced grant awards in 2021 and 2024 covering 4,488 unserved locations across the county. The handoff of responsibilities between the companies shows a commitment from 2 ISP companies to assure service is universally available across Madison County.
Firefly CEO Gary Wood said “We are excited to announce plans to include the Graves Mountain area and other locations in western Madison County to our planned network service area. We are working in Madison County and 12 other counties each day to extend fiber connected broadband service, recognizing the present and growing needs for connectivity in rural areas.” The project will also further expand the service area served through the Firefly partnership with Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC). Wood noted that Firefly will be contacting households and businesses when the transaction is approved to provide information on the buildout schedule and services available.
“We have an unwavering commitment to giving the communities we serve state-of-the-art connectivity and have been investing in building our Brightspeed Fiber Internet network to nearly 130,000 families and businesses in Virginia and have already reached nearly 42,000 fiber-enabled locations in 42 Virginia communities,” said Chris Dillon, Brightspeed state and local government affairs director in Virginia. “With the help of Firefly, now Madison County families and business owners will more quickly get the high-speed connectivity needed to thrive in today’s hyper-connected world.”