State officials plan to expand broadband services to 300,000 West Virginia homes

Thanks to nearly $1 billion in funding from a variety of sources, West Virginia officials are working to provide high-speed broadband to 300,000 households in the state that are currently lacking service. The funding comes from American Rescue Plan Act allocations, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and other sources that were wrapped into Gov Jim Justice (R-WV)'s $1 billion plan released in October 2021. According to West Virginia Department of Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Mitch Carmichael, the strategy aims to close the "digital divide in West Virginia." In June 2022, West Virginia was one of four states in the country to receive funding from the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund–$136 million that will be spent working toward the state's broadband connectivity goals. Carmichael outlined four projects that will funnel the various funding sources into direct aid to those lacking access to broadband, but in order to do so, the West Virginia Broadband enhancement Council had to first create a new broadband service map of its own that was outside the influence of the Federal Communications Commission.