Breezeline, the eighth-largest cable operator in the U.S., will extend its fiber network to over 1,200 unserved homes and businesses in King William County, Virginia starting next year.
The multi-year initiative is being funded by Breezeline and a $1.5 million subsidy from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which is administered by the Federal Communications Commission to bring connectivity to homes and businesses that lack access to broadband internet.
Once Breezeline begins the activation phase early next year, homes and businesses will have access to Gig-speed Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology for the very first time. The technology provides a powerful online experience for users with fast symmetrical download and upload speeds and low latency for video conferencing, distance learning, telemedicine, and gaming.
Breezeline also plans to introduce “Stream TV,” a new cloud-based service that seamlessly integrates live TV, DVR, On Demand and popular streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Max, and Disney+ for viewing on devices inside and outside the home via a single, easy-to-use interface.
In addition to the King William County project, Breezeline is expanding internet connectivity to nearly 7,500 unserved homes and businesses in eastern Caroline County and Essex County through a $15.2 million Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant, with additional contributions from Breezeline and the counties. Breezeline also completed construction this spring on a $7.2 million, 150-mile fiber-broadband expansion to more than 1,400 homes and businesses in Mathews, Caroline, Lancaster and Middlesex counties, also funded by VATI with contributions from Breezeline and the counties.
Sean Brushett, vice president of technical operations for Breezeline
We continue to make significant progress in our pre-construction planning. We have recently completed the field walk out phase, the design phase is now underway, and we expect the construction phase to begin this fall.
