Gov Justice announces another $20.8 million in grant funding for major broadband projects across West Virginia

Gov Jim Justice (R-WV) announced the preliminary approval of over $20.8 million in grant funding to begin a series of six broadband infrastructure projects across the state through the Major Broadband Project Strategies (MBPS) program. The MBPS program is a branch of Justice’s Billion-Dollar Broadband Strategy – a plan to invest over $1 billion in state and federal funds to make broadband connectivity available for the first time to 200,000 West Virginia homes and businesses. This latest announcement marks the first round of grants awarded through the MBPS program. The approved projects will result in more than 628 miles of new fiber infrastructure, providing broadband connectivity to 5,849 homes and businesses in West Virginia. The state’s total investment of $20,845,157 will leverage an additional $13,279,926 from other funding sources, for a total broadband infrastructure investment of $34,125,083 for this round alone.