Sanford, Cheapside, Cobbs Station Rd and Accomac residents can begin ordering service immediately.
EXMORE, VA. — The Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority (ESVBA) has started Fiber to the Home (FTTH) services in Sanford, Cheapside, Cape Charles and Accomac. These are the first of many communities slated to begin receiving FTTH service in the next six months.
The FTTH program extension was approved at the November Board of Directors meeting and publicly announced at a Ribbon Cutting Event on November 22, 2017. Senator Lynwood Lewis and Delegate Rob Bloxom both spoke at the celebratory event.
“Rural broadband and access to high speed internet is a challenge nationwide… I think this authority has really served as a model for other rural areas in the commonwealth and perhaps even nationwide as to how best to approach expanding access for high speed internet,” Senator Lynwood Lewis said.
The specific residences now eligible to participate in the program are located along the current ESVBA fiber routes in:
- Temperanceville and Sanford on Saxis Rd between Lankford Hwy and Belinda Rd.
- Cheapside on
o Capeville Rd West of Rt 13,
o Custis Tomb Rd between Arlington Ln and Custis Tomb Dr,
o Arlington Rd between Custis Tomb Dr and Cheapside Rd,
o Sand Hill Dr between Allure Way and Arlington Rd.
- Cape Charles on
o Cobbs Station Rd between the train tracks and Seaside Rd,
o Seaside Rd from Cobbs Station Rd South to the Northampton County Landfill
- Accomac on
o New Branch Rd between Bayside Rd and Sawyer Dr,
o Sawyer Dr from New Branch Rd to Jersey St,
o Jersey St from Sawyer Dr to Greenbush Rd,
o Greenbush Rd from Jersey St to Adams Rd,
o Adams Rd from from Greenbush Rd to the area of the ANEC power substation,
o Accomac Rd from Greenbush Rd to Courthouse Rd,
o Courthouse Rd from Accomac Rd to Front St,
o Tasley Rd from the train tracks to Front St,
o Church Rd from just South of Blue Ln to Front St,
o Drummondtown Rd from Front St to approximately .25miles North of Fitchett Ln,
o Front St from Tasley Rd to Mary N Smith Rd,
o Mary N Smith Rd from Front St to the MN Smith Center just South East of Kellam Ln,
o Joynes Neck Rd from Front St to the new Accomac park (Saw Mill Park).
The ESVBA’s FTTH project was first tested in September 2016 in Harborton, Virginia. Now, less than 15 months later, more than 15% of the homes there have successfully connected through the ESVBA’s FTTH project. The ESVBA added two new areas in March of 2017 and has continued to see good adoption of the service. This latest program expansion will bring fiber optic broadband service to many additional homes in an area previously unserved by terrestrial fiber.
The Eastern Shore fiber network currently consists of several hundred miles of fiber. Start-up investment from both Accomack and Northampton Counties was used to fund the initial network build-out but was paid back to taxpayers in full by the fall of 2015. Now, 100% self-sustaining, the ESVBA’s next network expansion project will be funded in its entirety through the responsible reinvestment of customer operating fees. The ESVBA continues to remain dedicated to improving broadband connectivity for all residents of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
For maps of the new FTTH coverage areas or to learn more about the Eastern Shore of Virginia broadband Authority, please visit www.esvba.com.
About Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority (ESVBA) is a public not for profit company formed in 2008 by the Counties of Northampton and Accomack Virginia, to provide and proliferate broadband services across the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The ESVBA runs an “Open Access” network and currently serves Education, Government, Healthcare, Commercial and Wholesale customers across the region. For more information, please visit: https://esvba.com/.
About the Author
I live on tangier and would like to be hook up to your service
The 2 things that had the largest, negative, impact on The Eastern Shore of Virginia are:
1. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
2. The Internet