MADISON, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Firefly Fiber Broadband, wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, has celebrated the first of what will be thousands of connections in Madison County. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week at Early Mountain Vineyards, Firefly President and CEO Gary Wood announced service would be extended to more Madison County residents and businesses as a result of the recently-awarded 2024 Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grant. He said that have plans to serve more than 5000 locations “with a commitment to build every unserved location in Madison”.

Firefly’s Regional Internet Service Expansion (RISE) Project was launched in 2021 to expand broadband to parts of 13 counties, making internet high-speed internet accessible to more than 45,000 locations and 112,000 Virginians. The RISE project includes 5,000 miles of fiber construction and will cost $330 million to complete.