Gayle Manchin Eyes Convening Appalachia's Governors on Broadband

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Gayle Manchin, the wife of Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) and federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, is planning to make broadband connectivity a central pillar of her remit and is already talking to many of the region’s governors about working as a bloc. “I would like to see the 13 governors that are a part of this region actually come together and work on this as a unit,” said Manchin. “There’s power in numbers.” She suggested these 13 governors would have leverage if they went right to cable providers to ask for better connectivity. Solutions to the region’s digital gap could include establishing cooperatives or having companies join forces, she added, noting she’s “begging” governors to come to an upcoming annual meeting in order to strategize on this. Her commission staff is also looking at holding regional meetings on issues including broadband. The region will need to effectively use the infusion of money from the pandemic relief bills, as well as, potentially, the infrastructure package that Joe Manchin is trying to negotiate, she said. But “the opportunity, I think, has never been better.”


Gayle Manchin Eyes Convening Appalachia's Governors on Broadband