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West Virginia making progress in fed-backed broadband projects

CHARLESTON — West Virginia is making progress on broadband projects funded by federal COVID-19 and infrastructure dollars according to state economic development officials Thursday.

The West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council received an update on various projects Thursday morning in a virtual monthly meeting.

The council heard from Kelly Workman, director of the Office of Broadband within the state Department of Economic Development. Workman briefed council members on broadband projects funded by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

West Virginia was one of the first states to have its ARPA Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund plans approved in June. According to the U.S. Treasury, more than $136 million of $10 billion in ARPA funds was allocated to West Virginia, with the state being approved to spend the full amount. The funding will help expand high-speed broadband to 20,000 locations, or 10 percent of locations in the state that lack access to broadband.

Workman said 24 projects have been approved for ARPA broadband funds to date, with six notices to proceed with designs awarded by the state.

“That enables those projects to move forward with getting their permits and making sure that their high-level designs are in order so that they can begin working through the process and getting to construction,” Workman said.

Another three projects have received notices to proceed with construction, including two projects by Prodigi in Preston County. Workman said that Prodigi is already connecting some unserved residents to high-speed internet.

Workman said projects through the state’s Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) Program, the Major Broadband Projects Strategies Program, and the GigReady program are moving forward. The LEAD Program expands existing network line extensions. The Major Broadband Projects Strategies Program focuses on major broadband infrastructure investments. The GigReady program provides local government/matching broadband funding incentives.

“The LEAD projects — those were the earliest rounds — those are moving forward,” Workman said. “(Gov. Jim Justice) did approve some projects out of our major broadband project strategies program and we are working on grant agreements for those projects. We have completed the public notification process for our first GigReady projects.”

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the state has applied for funds through the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program which connects local networks to high-capacity national and regional networks. The application closed last month with approvals expected in March.

Workman said the National Telecommunications and Information Administration received more than $5.5 billion in grant requests nationally for the $1 billion program, but the state is hopeful its application will be granted.

“NTIA has indicated that the program was oversubscribed by five to one,” Workman said. “I think that the representation in that program indicates that there’s just such a strong need throughout the nation. Hopefully, we’ll see more funding going into that program in the future.”

West Virginia is also participating in two other programs made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law: the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, and the Digital Equity Act. Both programs are designed to provide funding for expanding broadband in underserved and marginalized communities.

Including previous funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, West Virginia is sitting on more than $1 billion dollars for broadband expansion.

“There is a massive amount of work that goes into just being eligible for these programs and then being able to get to the real meat and potatoes of the programs, which are implementation funding,” said Robbie Skinner, chairman of the state Broadband Enhancement Council. “I think it’s important to stress that West Virginia is not leaving any money on the table when it comes to broadband funding. We are going after everything.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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