WEST VIRGINIA (WVVA) - West Virginia’s U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced that West Virginia will be receiving more then $1.21 billion for broadband expansion across the state. The money is the result of federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The money was allocated based on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband coverage maps.
“Today, not only are we announcing more than $1.2 billion to finally ensure every home in West Virginia is connected to reliable broadband. The maps now show what we knew all along – that West Virginia is one of the least-served states in the country,” said Manchin.
“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. 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,” said Capito.
The BEAD Program provides resources to expand high-speed Internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs. The program aims to get all Americans online by funding partnerships between states or territories, communities, and stakeholders to build infrastructure where we need it to and increase adoption of high-speed internet.
BEAD prioritizes unserved locations that have no internet access or that only have access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations only have access under 100/20 Mbps.