BROADBAND CORNER

The Bedford County Broadband Initiative recently reached a major milestone. ZiTel has effectively completed its original contract work in the Moneta, Goodview, and Huddleston areas. More than 4,100 Bedford County addresses now have the opportunity to connect to high-speed internet through ZiTel.

ZiTel began working in Bedford County in August 2022. The internet service provider is now working to complete its second project area in Montvale and Thaxton. Those 1,500 addresses will have access to service by spring of 2025.

"Reaching this milestone is a testament to ZiTeL’s commitment to bringing reliable, high-speed internet to the communities that need it most," said ZiTel COO Rodney Gray. "We are proud to partner with Bedford County and look forward to continuing our work to connect even more residents in the next phase of the project."

In 2022, Bedford County contracted with ZiTel, Shentel, and Riverstreet Networks to bring high-speed internet to unserved/underserved addresses. The projects were made possible with grants from the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative.

Other two projects:

Shentel (Project Completion Date: Fall 2025) - 1,250 addresses connected, 2,500 pending

RiverStreet Networks (Project Completion Date: Fall 2025) - 500 addresses connected, 3,500 pending