WASHINGTON (WV News) — “Every resident” in West Virginia will have access to affordable, high speed internet thanks to more than $1.2 billion in federal funds, according to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The state will receive $1,210,800,969.85 through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was established through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
“This is a huge day for West Virginia,” Raimondo said during a press conference with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “West Virginia will be receiving $1.2 billion, which is enough money to finally connect every resident of West Virginia.”
Raimondo later clarified she was not being hyperbolic — she expects the program to provide broadband internet access to literally every West Virginia resident.
“Everyone. When we say ‘everyone,’ we mean everyone,” she said.
Manchin compared the effort of expanding broadband to the work of the Rural Electrification Administration in the 1930s.
“It’s basically the same thing as rural electrification,” he said. “How did we get a hot wire up every road, nook and cranny in West Virginia so that everyone could have electricity? It was unimaginable... That’s the premise that we’re working off of.”
Allocation of the program’s $42 billion was based on the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Coverage maps.
Manchin, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., repeatedly encouraged West Virginians to challenge the results of preliminary maps and submit additional data to the FCC.
“I have consistently worked with those involved in this process at both the state and federal levels to ensure our maps are as accurate as possible and West Virginia receives its fair share of funding,” Capito said in a statement. “This funding, which is the largest amount of broadband funding awarded to the state to date, will assist in our efforts to provide communities with the resources they need to improve connectivity overall. We are on the cusp of a major breakthrough — one that I am committed to seeing though.”
The most recent version of the FCC’s coverage maps, released early this month, showed there are around 271,000 unserved locations in West Virginia.
This was an increase of more than 80,700 locations compared to the initial version of the map released in November.
The additional locations were identified through several methods developed and utilized by the West Virginia Office of Broadband, said Director Kelly Workman.
Individual West Virginians were provided tools to report their broadband availability and location information to the FCC; the Office of Broadband consulted with broadband carriers and cellular companies to refine location and technology data; and the Office of Broadband conducted onsite field inspections in targeted areas.
Funds will not be distributed until states submit a plan for their use to the Commerce Department, Raimondo said.
“The state has to give us a plan — they can submit the plan as early as July 1,” she said. “We will not send any money to the state until we as the Commerce Department have approved of the plan.”
“I know that’s a wide range — I don’t want to jinx us — but I think we’re on a great path to receive substantial federal funding,” he said.