WPPDC East Broadband Project
WPPDC East Project Description
The WPPDC East Universal Broadband Project is a project funded through a $87,003,888 grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) Program with $65,421,347 in match funding from RiverStreet Networks and local government partners. Participating local governments include Amelia, Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Nottoway, and Pittsylvania counties. The purpose of this project is to build fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband service to approximately 24,641 unserved locations.
Project activities include engineering, 2,296.2 miles of fiber installation, fiber splicing, installation of electronics to light fibers, and fiber drops to homes, businesses, and community locations that sign up for service.
WPPDC signed the grant agreement with DHCD on August 11, 2022.
Current project status:
RiverStreet is in the process of designing the FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network for the project. This is a time consuming process, so it will be several months before construction crews are seen on the ground.
The project design is on a county-basis and divided into service areas. Each area requires a site acquisition or lease of property in a centralized location for placement of a FTTH building with equipment. This includes surveying, zoning applications, site preparation, etc.
During the design phase, RSN determine pedestal locations, fiber sizing by number of homes and cost efficiency while future proofing the network for the growth and development of the county.
After the design for each service area is completed, RiverStreet orders the necessary material and equipment to meet the design needs for construction. This requires RiverStreet to acquire material yard sites for storing the construction materials. The material yards require surveying, site preparation, and obtaining equipment for material handling.
After design and field surveying are complete, the drafting of each area is required to provide installation instructions to the construction crews. From these design documents the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) permits are compiled and submitted for approval by VDOT for projected fiber placement.
This is a time consuming process, but once things get rolling RSN is able to focus on construction and connecting homes and businesses with a reliable network for years to come.
Construction has started in areas of Pittsylvania and Charlotte counties!
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Project Partners:
County Partners:
