According to the Danville Register & Bee, Pittsylvania County and other areas in southside will receive two grants totaling $21 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand broadband access in southside Virginia. A good portion of the funding will provide more fiber to connect 121 regular schools to an existing network. The Virginia Tobacco Commission also provided $4 million in matching funds, which will also bring approximately 75 jobs to the region.  Building additional infrastructure such as broadband helps to further educate the region's workforce and increases southside's competitiveness from an economic development perspective.  The expansion of broadband will also benefit homeowners with school-aged children given the primary focus of the initative is education-oriented.

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