BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WDTV) – A Bridgeport-based company will be the first West Virginia internet services provider to receive funding for expanded broadband through a federal program, according to state delegates.
Citynet is slated to receive $53 million through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito announced Thursday.
“In order to improve connectivity in West Virginia, we need to make sure we have every single opportunity available to do so,” Capito said in a news release. “One of those opportunities is the RDOF reverse auction. It’s great news that Citynet out of Bridgeport is one of the local providers—and the first in West Virginia—that will receive a significant portion of this funding.”
Capito said the funding funding will be instrumental in helping Citynet assist in broadband deployment.
The RDOF is an effort by the FCC to provide $20.4 billion over the next decade to increase access to high speed broadband service in rural areas.
According to the FCC, West Virginia has over 121,000 initially eligible locations for the first phase of the initiative’s funding.