RiverStreet Years Late on Broadband Projects Funded by COVID-Era Grants
The Virginia provider was contracted through 2022 and 2023 broadband grants under the American Rescue Plan Act.
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2026 – RiverStreet Networks is years late on a publicly funded Virginia broadband buildout, leaving tens of thousands of rural residents still waiting for the internet service they were promised according to a Cardinal News story.
RiverStreet was selected to help extend broadband service to underserved rural communities using state and federal grant funding. To date, the company has reached only 11,773 of the 50,805 potential locations it was contracted to serve across 12 counties.
The shortfall is especially stark in Patrick County, where RiverStreet has not completed service to any of the 8,381 fiber locations it contracted to reach under COVID-era broadband grants awarded in 2022 and 2023. RiverStreet has also failed to deliver service in Henry, Nottoway and Dinwiddie counties, Cardinal News reports.
The delays have drawn scrutiny from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, whose broadband office has issued RiverStreet two corrective action plans for missed performance milestones. The projects are backed by more than $120 million in Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grants, plus tens of millions more in required matching funds.
Greg Coltrain, RiverStreet’s vice president of business development, told Patrick County supervisors that the company had contractors lined up and inventory ready, but still needed to finalize financing before construction could move forward.
RiverStreet blames financing challenges for the delay. Because broadband grants are often reimbursed after construction spending, providers must secure upfront capital before they can draw down public funds. The company has also pointed to redesign work tied to overlapping federal broadband programs.
Projects funded through the American Rescue Plan Act generally must be completed by the end of 2026, though the Treasury Department has allowed states to seek extensions until June 2027.
