On January 21, AIA Virginia signed on as a member of Commonwealth Connect in support of Governor Northam’s budget increase for the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) in order to provide universal broadband. Currently, there are 660,000 Virginians that do not have access to broadband services. Today, internet is as necessary as electricity. The Commonwealth Connect coalition is advocating for a $50 million budget allocation to bring the service to uncovered portions of Virginia. This would be a $46 million increase to VATI’s annual budget. This amount of state funding would lead to an anticipated 110,000 new connections per year. Currently, the state budget depicts a $20M line item.
Rural Virginia communities have lost 20th century industries and broadband is a requirement for doing business in today’s society. This service, within itself, can be a catalyst for economic development which leads to projects for architects. When visiting with architecture firms in AIA Blue Ridge, members have shared with the Executive Vice President that the absence of broadband is one of the issues that has impacted their clients most.
The Commonwealth Connect coalition currently has 49 members and is growing by the week during the General Assembly session. Other members include the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Municipal League, Virginia Economic Developers Association, Virginia State Fire Fighters Association, Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions, Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, Virginia Association of Counties, Verizon, and many more. This advocacy has led to a budget increase of 5 times the annual allocation in the currently proposed budget. However, a $50M allocation is the ultimate goal.