 Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC) is a not-for-profit cooperative created in 2003 to revitalize the regional economy of Southside Virginia. The goal is to build a cost-effective, carrier-class telecom infrastructure that would expand broadband services in the region, provide unique opportunities for research/development and create opportunities for the private sector to deploy competitive broadband services.
In 2004, MBC created a plan to build over 700 miles of new fiber optic infrastructure, deploy the latest optical network equipment, and own the facilities and infrastructure that would be used for this project. The project started with $6 million in grant funding from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) along with a matching $6 million from the Virginia Tobacco Commission to build the first 300 miles of network infrastructure in the region. The Tobacco Commission provided an additional $28 million in grant funding which helped MBC extend the network to 24 Southside Virginia counties and cities, and connects over 60 business, technology and industrial parks to long-haul fiber stretching from Atlanta to Washington DC.
Today, the 700-mile fiber network is operational and MBC is an established
wholesaler of broadband services, providing the infrastructure
necessary to attract businesses to rural Virginia. In February 2008,
MBC announced a tenfold increase in the capacity of the Southside
Virginia Regional Backbone Network, using Infinera's digital photonic networking. This 100 Gigabits/second capacity ensures that MBC will be able
to meet the high-bandwidth wholesale optical transport demands of major
telecom carriers and service providers needing access to new data
centers in Southside Virginia. MBC and the VTC are also funding last mile
pilot projects in five Southside communities to demonstrate a variety of wireless technologies. Businesses and
residents throughout Virginia are already benefiting from MBC's success.
For additional information visit MBC on the web at www.mbc-va.com or call (434) 570-1304.
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