Farm Life Gets a Connection Upgrade: Spectrum Brings Reliable Internet to Rural Virginia

It’s 9 p.m. The chores are done, the tractors parked and the invoices are still stacked on the kitchen table. Spotty and slow internet made that routine for many rural Virginia farm families.

Running a farm today relies on technology for nearly every part of the operation, and it all starts with a fast, reliable internet connection. Unfortunately, for many farmers in rural Virginia that had always been out of reach. But that’s all changed. Spectrum recently completed a multi-year project to expand the Company’s broadband network across the City of Suffolk and  Isle of Wight and Southampton counties. Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice are now available to more than 12,000 new homes, small businesses and yes, all those farms throughout the region.

A reliable connection turns the farm into a smarter, more flexible place to work:

• Precision farming that pays off: Soil sensors, GPS-guided equipment and drones generate piles of data. An online portal turns it into decisions that boost productivity and profitability.
• Market moves in real time: Check prices from the truck and order supplies without a trip into town.
• Paperwork on your schedule: Handle payments, invoices and forms from anywhere and when it works best for you.
• Eyes on the farm: WiFi in the barn and at the shop means cameras, irrigation controls and livestock monitors keep working while you’re across the property or across the state.
• Life beyond the fields: Kids can finish homework online, family can video chat and everyone can stream a movie after a long day.

“This is a gamechanger for those families, farms and businesses in rural Virginia,” said Doug Davis, Spectrum Regional Vice President, Carolinas/Virginia, Field Operations. “The impact is clear – communities that were once overlooked now have access to fast, reliable internet that will serve them for decades.”

Getting here took more than 1,400 miles of construction. Spectrum invested more than $7.4 million in the project, and the State and counties added over $27.5 million, bringing the total investment to nearly $35 million.

It’s part of Spectrum’s Rural Construction Initiative, backed by more than $7 billion in private investment from the Company. It will ultimately add 100,000 miles to the Company’s network.