Countywide broadband making major progress in Bedford [Video]

BEDFORD — If universal broadband coverage in Bedford County were a Major League baseball game, it is about time for the seventh-inning rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” to mark the home stretch.

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors received a progress report on Oct. 28 from three internet service provider companies working to bring high-speed internet to more homes and businesses in the roughly 770-square-mile county. Those companies — Shentel, RiverStreet Networks and Zitel — are part of the overall network of broadband funded largely through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) grant-funded projects in 2022 and 2023.

Shentel’s two VATI projects totaled 3,769 locations passed at a combined cost of $23.8 million. Of that total, the county contributed $2.9 million, VATI covered $7.6 million, and Shentel put up $13.3 million. As a result, a few shy of 1,660 former unserved county residents now have access to broadband …