Patrick County, where Claudville is located, received a 2000 grant to string fiber along the county's major roads, but this did nothing to bring high-speed access directly into homes. In 2007, the county tried to arrange for a government Rural Connectivity Grant to build and operate a modest 10-seat computer center in the town's Community Building. After the proposal was ready, however, an unnamed ISP showed up at a meeting and announced that they were now serving the area—which invalidated the grant proposal.

Residents were not pleased, especially when it became clear that only one home in town was being served. "This was a couple of years ago, and the company that was serving a single household has not provided fiber up the main road, with nodes, and they are not even providing high-speed Internet service to homes on the side of the road they already serve," Large told Congress.