WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2026 – Virginia’s broadband office is moving forward on ISP grant agreements under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The state has signed agreements with 19 providers so far, and the broadband office said the remaining three would sign their papers by Aug. 16. Based on data the state submitted to the Commerce Department, the signed contracts cover about 64,000 locations. Providers can now start necessary environmental review work, the broadband office said in an email. She said NTIA was working with states to find backup plans for “about a dozen” states in which providers had refused BEAD awards.