ZiTEL Plans 3,467-Location Virginia Fiber Build After Years of Delay

ZiTEL plans to build fiber past 3,467 eligible locations in Henry County, Virginia, and the company says some homes could be connected before the end of this year. The commitment comes after years of delays under a previous provider that filed for bankruptcy protection just last week.

Rodney Gray, ZiTEL's chief operating officer, told the Henry County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 27 that construction will begin as permits are approved. The project spans three counties — Henry, Franklin and Patrick — and the company intends to build across all of them simultaneously.

How is the build split and funded?

The Henry County work divides into two funding phases with different clocks attached:

• 2022 phase: 3,100 locations, with substantial completion required by June 30, 2027.
• 2023 phase: 367 locations, with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2027.

ZiTEL has assembled roughly 26 crews — 10 of its own plus 16 to 18 subcontractor crews — and has already ordered materials, Gray said. Most of the construction will run underground, and the company plans to lease existing fiber strung on Appalachian Power poles rather than build everything from scratch.

That existing infrastructure matters for the timeline. Gray identified 810 locations in the 2022 phase and 53 in the 2023 phase that sit within 1,000 feet of Appalachian Power's fiber. Those 863 homes and businesses could be connected quickly once the network is activated — the pool from which the year-end service claims come. To put the distance in perspective: 1,000 feet is roughly a city block and a half, close enough for a short drop rather than a long lateral build.

What is ZiTEL's immediate priority?

Gray framed the company's near-term goal narrowly: reach the "substantial completion" level required to keep the grant money in place. He acknowledged that not every eligible location will necessarily have service by the deadlines, though he said ZiTEL would keep building after those dates pass.

The company estimates the project will bring about $23.14 million in combined local, state, federal and private spending to the Henry County area — a figure that works out to roughly $6,700 per eligible location.

Why did the project change hands?

The West Piedmont Planning District Commission signed an agreement with ZiTEL in August to complete the regional project. Henry County said at the time that the provider switch would not require additional local tax or grant commitments, and that funding for the project had already been secured — a claim worth watching, given the history.

That history is the awkward part. The project sat for years under RiverStreet Networks, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 21. The ZiTEL handoff, in other words, is less a fresh start than a rescue of commitments made long before the 2027 deadlines were set.

The county's assurance that no new local money is needed is specific and testable; what officials did not say is what happens if ZiTEL, like its predecessor, falls short. Gray's own caveat — that every location may not be served on time — is the sentence most likely to matter in three years.

For now, the milestones are fixed: permits, then crews in the ground, with the first connections possible by December and substantial completion due by mid-2027.