Arrington
Nelson County, Virginia
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) announced the next stop for fiber installation will be in Nelson County in 2019, providing communications for a smart grid system and delivering high speed internet to its members. Nelson County was selected as the next stop due to the lowest cost to serve based on the county’s consideration of transferring its fiber optic broadband network to CVEC. “CVEC is pleased to partner with Nelson County to achieve the shared goal of establishing broadband networks in rural areas,” says CVEC President Gary Wood.
CVEC’s construction in Nelson County will be the next stop in a five-year plan to install over 4,500 miles of fiber-optic cable in the 14 counties it serves, providing broadband internet to all of its 36,000 members. The fiber network will use laser beams and glass fibers to move data at speeds of up to one gigabit per second, delivering world-class communications to members served by the Martins Store substation, one of five substations in the county. The build-out for Martins Store will include over 500 miles of fiber optic cable that will stretch from Afton Mountain down Route 151 to Brent’s Mountain plus the side roads and subdivisions on either side of the main route. It will also extend down Route 6 from Martins Store to Woods Mill and cover the Route 29 corridor from Davis Creek to Covesville. Portions of Faber will be included as well as Wheelers Cove and Dutch Creek.
The fiber will reach 4,145 of the 8,781 member accounts in Nelson County. “Families who wish to reside in rural areas should be afforded the same amenities as those who choose to live in urban and suburban areas. The challenge we are facing today mirrors the challenge our members overcame in 1937 when our Cooperative was created to supply power to those who were forced to live without,” says Wood.
The CVEC fiber-optic network will be installed on and adjacent to existing overhead and underground electric distribution lines, utilizing the existing infrastructure. CVEC will install and own the fiber-optic cable, and its wholly-owned subsidiary will offer retail internet and phone services to its members through Firefly Fiber Broadband. High-speed internet with unlimited data at 100 megabits per second for $49.99 per month or 1 gigabit per second of unlimited data for $79.99 per month are package options offered by Firefly. Unlike many other internet services, the download and upload speeds will be the same on
the Firefly network. Voice-over IP phone service (VoIP), with unlimited local and long-distance calling in continental U.S., will also be available as an add-on to either broadband service for $29.99 each month. Firefly internet service will include a managed WiFi service, allowing Firefly to assure the best performance for all wireless devices in a home. Subscriptions will be available by spring 2019 to members served by the CVEC Martins Store substation.
As the schedule for construction is set, new substation areas to be served will be announced. All information that is available regarding schedule and subscription options for residential and small business is available on the newly launched Firefly Fiber Broadband website, www.fireflyva.com.
CVEC is also proud to announce the hiring of the first employee for Firefly. Jon Anderson will serve as the General Manager for broadband services. He previously worked with Time Warner internet in leadership roles in the areas of customer service, network operations center management, field operations and technical support services. His last position was Vice President of Process Engineering. Jon will be hiring and developing a new team of technical and customer service experts for Firefly as the company takes flight to bring its customers world class, high speed broadband service delivered over fiber optic cables. Job postings will be listed atwww.mycvec.com/about-us/careers.
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit, electric utility serving almost 37,000 homes, farms and businesses in the rural portions of 14 Virginia counties. CVEC is proud to be a Four-Star Cooperative for Service Excellence certified by the Touchstone Energy Service Excellence Program. For more information, visit www.mycvec.com.
