Tidewater Review |

King and Queen gets state recognition for bringing broadband to county

KING AND QUEEN — King and Queen County has been recognized by the Virginia Association of Counties for bringing broadband to the rural county.

The county was one of 45 recipients of the association’s 2024 Achievement Awards, which recognize excellence in local government programs. The association received 145 submissions in all.

Winning entries focused on addressing issues of housing, recreation and communications, as well as finding solutions to other challenges that counties face daily, according to a news release from the association. The awards recognize the “hard work, good decision making and problem-solving skills of county staffs and leadership,” said association director Dean Lynch.

In 2019, King and Queen County partnered with RiverStreet Networks to bring advanced broadband network services to residential and commercial customers. The project gave more than 3,800 county locations access to the fiber network, making King and Queen what is believed to be the first county in Virginia to undergo a comprehensive fiber build covering the entire locality.

“The King and Queen County Fiber-to-the-Home Project represented a monumental undertaking that made King and Queen County a leader in the commonwealth,” the county wrote in its award entry. “The now-complete initiative guarantees that every resident and business in the county has access to the RiverStreet system to obtain fiber internet comparable to that of major urban areas.”

According to the county, the “top-of-the-line” broadband service covers about 575 route miles of fiber and is utilized by more than 30% of homes and businesses in rural King and Queen. The expansion is considered a boost to the county’s economic and educational development and positions it for future opportunities, according to the entry.

North Carolina-based RiverStreet also worked with the Rappahannock Tribe to provide connectivity to the Tribal Center, located in King and Queen County. The project was funded with a combination of federal, state and local funds.

“We are very proud of the hard work and dedication our staff and partner, RiverStreet, to ensure all citizens of the county were able to receive broadband internet,” said Erin Lazar, the county’s director of community programming.

In 2016, the county won the Virginia Association of Counties’ Best Achievement award for its wireless broadband construction project.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com