USDA Invests $5.6 Million in Broadband for Rural West Virginia Communities

The Department of Agriculture has invested $5.6 million in two, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 3,250 rural households and nearly 200 businesses in Tyler and Wetzel counties in West Virginia. 

• The Ohio Valley Industrial and Business Development Corporation will use $2.1 million in ReConnect Program grant funding to construct a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network utilizing gigabit passive optical network technologies in rural West Virginia. The Corporation will use matching funds in the same amount to complete the project, for a total project cost of $4.2 million. The service area includes 1,909 households, five educational facilities, one health care center and nine critical community facilities spread over 48 square miles in Wetzel County.
• The Tyler County Development Authority, Inc. will use $1.7 million in ReConnect Program grant funding and $1.7 million in ReConnect Program loan funding to provide broadband service to underserved households, farms and businesses in Tyler County. The funded service area includes 1,366 households, three educational facilities, one health care center and five critical community facilities spread over 26 square miles.