Gloucester is one step closer to being able to serve nearly 2,000 underserved homes and businesses with broadband after county staff has taken the steps to apply for a series of Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grants.

Assistant county administrator Carol Steele is spearheading the effort, and said she is really excited about the potential these grant requests hold to serving the community.

Steele told the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors during its meeting Tuesday night in the colonial courthouse that serving the areas of the community that currently don’t have access to broadband internet is “something I’m passionate about.”

She said currently, about 85 percent of the county is able to connect to broadband internet. However, the remaining 15 percent needs to be added, and with these grant opportunities, she said there is a good chance of a majority of those remaining to be included. 

Though it may take upwards of three months to hear from t...