An internet service provider that left more than 30,000 rural customers without broadband connections has been stripped of its state contracts, state and local officials say.
Virginia’s Office of Broadband determined this month that RiverStreet Networks, unable to acquire financing, is incapable of completing its broadband deployment work in Virginia. As officials work to find new providers to take over multiple projects, a federal deadline looms. The government will reclaim funds unspent by the end of the year.
The federal money in question comes from the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act, passed into law after federal and state leaders determined that areas without broadband were falling behind during the COVID-19 shutdown…