Companies eagerly await final approvals for RDOF broadband projects in the Mountain State

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Nearly 11 months after the announcement of more than $360 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction program awards for broadband projects in West Virginia, companies eagerly await the final approvals necessary to begin the work to expand gigabit-level broadband service to more rural residents.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the winning 180 bidders in phase one of the program for $9.2 billion in broadband expansion funds over 10 years.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction program “the largest opportunity that we have to deploy broadband in rural America over the next decade.”

Of West Virginia’s funding share, Frontier Communications received the majority, at $247.6 million. Other companies included Citynet at $53.5 million, GigaBeam Networks at $28.1 million, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. at $13.8 million, MicroLogic at $10 million, Digital Connections Inc. (Prodigy) at $8.6 million, Commnet Wireless at $196,952, Altice USA at $125,528 and Shenandoah Cable Television at $91,867.

Commnet Wireless defaulted on its West Virginia bid, the FCC announced in July.

The remaining companies were then to submit long-form applications.

Thus far, Citynet of Bridgeport is the only provider to have cleared the second phase in the approval process for projects in the Mountain State. The FCC announced in an Oct. 7 news release that Citynet is in line to receive its share of the funding.

Citynet CEO Jim Martin said although that was a major hurdle cleared, there are still more steps to complete in the process before the federal government will grant final approval to begin the work.

Martin said the company has a thorough plan in place, and he is confident the company will ultimately receive full approval.

Representatives of Suddenlink, the subsidiary of Altice USA that operates in West Virginia, are confident their company will clear the second phase and ultimately receive the go-ahead from the federal government.

“Suddenlink is committed to keeping our communities in West Virginia connected. Today, over 90% of the homes we pass in West Virginia have access to 1 Gig download speeds for broadband internet, and we recently upgraded speeds in Beverly, Elkins and Buckhannon to 400 Mbps, which is four times the previous highest speed offered in those markets,” the company said in a statement to WV News.

“Expanding access to high-quality reliable broadband is a priority, and we continue to expand our network and add new homes to our footprint. We are working with the FCC through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund … and look forward to working with state broadband grant programs to make broadband available in new markets,” the statement said.

However, there has been apprehension in the state, including from Capito, about Frontier Communications’ share of the funding.

In May, Frontier emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring to erase $10 billion in debt.

In a letter to the FCC written shortly after announcement of the bid awards in December 2020, Capito raised concerns over Frontier’s ability to meet the obligations of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program. She cited mismanagement of prior federal funding and prior inability to meet FCC deadlines.

She also questioned the company’s ability to meet the technological demands of delivering gigabit-level service in the state, as well as its ability to secure the funding required to cover costs above the subsidy provided by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund as the company emerges from Chapter 11 restructuring.

“If, during the review of Frontier’s long-form application for the West Virginia locations, there are any questions or concerns about their ability to deliver on the commitment made in their short-form application, I urge the FCC to reject their long-form application. The stakes are simply too high to provide nearly $250 million to a company that does not have the capability to deliver on the commitments made to the FCC. West Virginia cannot afford to be let down, yet again, by the failure of Frontier to deliver on promises made to federal partners,” Capito wrote.

Representatives of Frontier said they intend to regain the trust of West Virginians, and that they expect the company’s long-form application to clear the FCC’s review.

“The expectation is that the FCC will complete its review by the end of December, so we don’t have issues with our long form. We fully expect that we will get finally approved for funding, and we will be prepared to begin when the program begins, which, as we stand here today, is Jan. 1, 2022,” said Allison Ellis, Frontier’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs.

The successful conclusion of the Chapter 11 restructuring provided Frontier with the financial flexibility needed to deploy fiber, and an entirely new board and management team are now in place to oversee fulfillment of the mission, she said.

“We have worked very hard to demonstrate to West Virginia how important that they are to us. We’ve actually made a commitment to the state to expand fiber to the premises … to 150,000 locations over the next seven years, 75,000 of that to be within three years. We are already beginning that work. We understand that we have a trust issue in West Virginia, but we are doing fiber deployment today,” Ellis said.

The company is currently working on projects in Clarksburg, Beckley, Charleston and Falling Waters, with plans to expand to additional markets, according to Scott Mispagel, Frontier’s senior vice president of national architecture and engineering.

“I think one of the best things we can do for West Virginia is give them the best broadband solution that technology has to offer, and we’re doing just that,” he said.

For their part, state officials have said that a program has been developed to serve as a check to ensure the companies are meeting their obligations.

State-level mapping efforts with data generated from residents’ speed testing have given the state a better idea of who is being served and who is not, without relying on the federal government, whose mapping methods have been called into question for their reliance on information provided by internet companies, according to officials.

An audit process also has been developed.

“This is the first time you’ve heard about a broadband initiative in West Virginia in which there is a post-award monitoring process, an auditing process, in place,” said state Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael.