Lumos Fiber expanding in Augusta County, Waynesboro
AUGUSTA COUNTY — More homes in Augusta County and Waynesboro will be getting fiber-optic network options from Lumos, according to a recent announcement from the company.
Lumos provides ultra-high-speed fiber internet service, wall-to-wall Wi-Fi, voice and streaming services to nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in Virginia and North Carolina, where it's known as NorthState, a release said.
According to BroadbandNOW.com, which is a website that helps consumers find and compare internet service providers, fiber optic cables offer much faster speeds over much longer distances than traditional copper-based technologies like DSL and cable.
With the newest expansion, Waynesboro; parts of Augusta County including Stuarts Draft; Crozet and Bedford County, including parts of Lynchburg, will receive fiber internet services.
Lumos announced an accelerate construction schedule for its expansion in Virginia — more than 12,000 homes and businesses in the five communities will have access to the network as early as March.
"Our ambition is to bring gig-speed fiber internet to as many communities as possible across Virginia and beyond," Lumos CEO Diego Anderson said in a release. "I'm thrilled to announce our 2022 plans to bring a future-proof network to even more of Virginia."
"Only a 100% fiber-optic network can provide virtually unlimited broadband capacity and synchronous download and upload speeds necessary for today’s ultra-high-bandwidth applications,” Anderson continued.
Construction will begin immediately.
Consumers interested in signing up for ultra-high-speed fiber internet service can check availability at LumosFiber.com or by calling 855-GO-LUMOS.
Your support helps keep the lights on at The News Leader. Stay connected with our stories, enterprise reporting and more by clicking "Subscribe" at the top of the page.
More: Congestion, safety issues near Weyers Cave to be addressed thanks to new I-81 survey
More: 5 restaurants in Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro that closed in 2021
More: Stuarts Draft community gets excited for their 8th annual Christmas parade
Internet expansion in the county
Augusta County has been working for years to get internet expansion.
Most recently, the county put out a survey as part of a 2022 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grant application. The VATI grant will allocate American Rescue Plan funds.
According to the county, the state grant would help the local government accomplish installing universal fiber-to-home broadband connections in underserved areas throughout the jurisdiction.
In March 2020, it was announced Augusta and Highland counties received a grant enabling fiber internet access thanks to the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative.
Seventeen different localities received a total of $20.1 million in grants to improve broadband infrastructure.
Augusta County was awarded $1,270,413.
The county, through a partnership with MGW/Lingo, will construct a fiber-to-home network to provide broadband access to 1,099 total locations, including 15 businesses in the McDowell and Deerfield areas of Augusta and Highland counties, the release said.
In 2020, Staunton announced it would be adding fiber network throughout the city with GloFiber, Shentel's fiber division.
Shentel is constructing fiber lines up and down the Shenandoah Valley. Shentel has also been granted franchises in Winchester, Front Royal, Harrisonburg, Salem and Lynchburg. They are currently working in Harrisonburg, Staunton, Winchester and Front Royal.
— Laura Peters is the trending topics reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Or a good feature? You can reach reporter Laura Peters (she/her) at lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura. Subscribe to The News Leader at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Fiber internet expanding in Augusta County and Waynesboro thanks to Lumos
