West Virginia is ready to go with its final proposal for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding, a long-anticipated resource meant to give the Mountain State long-sought internet connectivity, but there’s already some concern that the initiative might not fully live up to its hype.
Even though it’s called a final proposal, the broadband internet expansion plan isn’t yet set in stone. It’s still to be reviewed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“So you know, final proposal may suggest a little bit more finality than we may actually have here,” Chris Campbell of Tilson Technology Management told the West Virginia Broadband Council last week.
The current state of affairs represents a crossroads for the complex and often contentious process of expanding broadband access in rural West Virginia.
The BEAD program is a $42.45 billion state grant program authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. States were allocated funding to deploy or upgrade high-speed internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.
The Trump administration earlier this year announced a “rigorous review” of the BEAD program, leading to a delay and some restructuring that was put in place June 6.
The policy created a new 90-day deadline for all states to submit their BEAD final proposals.
There are several areas of concern:
1. Uncertainty over a significant reduction in BEAD funding: West Virginia’s initial $1.2 billion allocation was substantially reduced to about $625 million in the final proposal, prompting concerns from state leaders like Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who described it as a “cut.”
“I hope we get our 1.2 billion. I’m going to hold the Trump administration’s feet to the fire that this is what we’ve been promised, this is what we should get,” Capito said this week on “The Dave Allen Show” on 580 WCHS Radio.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, however, attributed the reduction to the removal of ineligible or already-served locations and plans to supplement the funds with leftover American Rescue Plan Act money.
The proposal is meant to serve all locations eligible for BEAD funding in West Virginia — about 74,000 locations, including unserved, underserved, and community anchor institutions.
But the total number came down from an initial target of 114,178 locations.
The reduction was attributed to various factors, including locations being determined not to be broadband serviceable, already being served or being covered by other federally funded projects.
During a meeting last week of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, state Senator Robbie Morris expressed concern that the effort isn’t adding up to its full potential.
“I’m really concerned about how we’ve already given practically 50% of our money back,” said Morris, R-Randolph.
2. The adoption of a “technology-neutral” approach that includes Low Earth Orbit satellite solutions:
While fiber optic cable is often seen as the preferred technology, the state Office of Broadband adopted a technology-neutral strategy for BEAD, prioritizing low-cost projects and scalability over specific technology types.
This approach led to SpaceX’s Starlink LEO satellite technology being awarded projects, particularly in areas identified as “excessively high cost.”
Senator Capito maintains that fiber internet is “the only way to go” in West Virginia, contrasting with the state’s technology-neutral approach.
Capito said West Virginia officials told the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that satellite connection would be far less effective across the countryside than more expensive fiber internet.
“We basically said, in West Virginia, it is almost impossible to be served adequately by any kind of satellite. There’s latency. You can’t get it — the trees, the hollers, all of those things — and so really we’re trying to make the case that hardline or fiber is the only way to go,” Capito said.
3. Strong and persistent concerns about the effectiveness of satellite internet in West Virginia’s unique geography:
West Virginia’s rugged terrain could play a factor in whether the low earth orbit satellite service is effective.
Residents during a public comment period cited issues such as latency, loss of service during bad weather, and challenges posed by the state’s mountainous terrain, heavy tree cover and hollers.
Public comments also highlighted doubts about satellite’s ability to meet required performance standards and concerns about its capacity and affordability of service and equipment.
During a public comment period, the final proposal document notes that “Residents requested fiber optic cable and expressed issues with satellite, including loss of service in weather or inability to receive satellite service at all.
“Commenters noted concerns about satellite meeting the required performance standards and the lack of jobs and infrastructure for satellite service.”
Morris, the state senator from Randolph County, echoed concern about the use of low earth orbit satellite in certain areas of West Virginia, noting the state’s challenging terrain and the risk that low earth orbit may not work well everywhere.
He said that the plan as put forward by the state is likely to help with internet coverage — but if federal officials push during the upcoming review process for even more coverage via satellite then that should raise concerns.
“There are certain parts of this state in the valleys and between our hills and hollers that we have to pipe in sunshine — really covered in trees,” Morris told the state broadband council.
“I’m afraid that just in trying to cut further funding from this that we’re going to end up with areas that are covered by LEO, that it’s not going to work. And this program is designed was to fix this problem once and for all, to close the digital divide and be done.”