The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC) is expanding its open-access advanced fiber optic network, as a result of three Federal Broadband Stimulus grant awards.

A $16 million grant award MBC received in February, 2010, with $4 million in matching funds provided by the Virginia Tobacco Commission, will enable MBC to grow its existing middle mile infrastructure to provide fiber connectivity to over 100 K-12 schools in Southern Virginia. MBC is building over 400 miles of new fiber routes, bringing approximately 75 new jobs to the region to include 25 jobs in Halifax County. This grant also provides additional access points within the unserved and underserved region for MBC Members to provide affordable retail telecom service to the school systems and to extend last-mile services to residential and business customers.

MBC also received a $10 million NTIA grant in August 2010. This project will build 170 miles of new open-access fiber backbone into rural communities of eastern Virginia, interconnecting with networks in the Hampton Roads region. Over 30 community anchor institutions will be connected to the MBC network. Old Dominion University provided $1.2 million in additional matching funds to MBC and will be a partner in this project.

A $5.5 million NTIA infrastructure grant was awarded to the Virginia Tech Foundation. MBC is partnering with the Foundation to design, engineer and construct a 110-mile open access fiber optic network between Blacksburg and Bedford, Virginia. This will create new network opportunities for MBC Members to reach remote and unserved areas of six counties in Virginia’s Appalachian region, and to act as a catalyst for high capacity research and development opportunities.

When all of these projects are completed by 2013, MBC’s fiber route miles will increase from 800 to 1,500.

To manage these projects, MBC has added nine new positions in the past year in the Riverstone Technology Park building corporate headquarters office in South Boston, Virginia. To accommodate the increased staff, MBC’s office square footage will increase by 83%. MBC will now occupy the entire second floor west wing of the Riverstone Building with their operations center. The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County secured a Southside Economic Development allocation grant of $271,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission to assist with the building up-fit and backup of existing operations.