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Part of Gov. Justice’s Billion-Dollar Broadband Strategy, projects will provide connectivity to over 9,300 homes and businesses
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CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice today announced the preliminary approval of $6 million in grant funding for two massive broadband infrastructure projects – spanning Kanawha, Jackson, and Lincoln counties – through the Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) program.
The LEAD program is a branch of Gov. 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.
Today’s announcement marks the third round of grants awarded through the LEAD program. The approved projects will result in approximately 768 miles of new fiber infrastructure, providing broadband connectivity to 9,337 homes and businesses in West Virginia.
“We continue to line up more and more broadband projects all across West Virginia, and this latest round of projects should come as a major excitement to those in the more remote areas of Kanawha, Jackson, and Lincoln counties,” Gov. Justice said. “For our people to be successful and for our businesses to compete on the world stage, we have to expand access to reliable broadband. That’s exactly what my Billion-Dollar Broadband Strategy is doing.”
The state’s total investment of $6,000,000 will leverage an additional $8,366,765 from other funding sources, for a total broadband infrastructure investment of $14,366,765 for this round alone.
This marks the fourth time this year that Gov. Justice has announced a round of major broadband projects through his Billion-Dollar Broadband Strategy. Today’s round of projects joins two previous rounds of LEAD projects and one additional round of projects through the Major Broadband Project Strategies (MBPS) program.
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Factoring in all funding sources combined, a grand total investment of over $75.6 million – including over $48 million in state funding – has been committed to undertake 18 major broadband infrastructure projects throughout West Virginia. These projects will result in over 1,800 miles of new fiber infrastructure, providing high-speed broadband access to over 20,000 new homes and businesses.
Projects announced today include those received under the LEAD program’s third application round, which closed on Jan. 30, 2022.
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Broadband projects receiving LEAD program funds listed below:
Altice USA: Greater Sissonville
LEAD Program Funds: $4,000,000
Matching Funds: $6,062,482
Total Project Cost: $10,062,482
Estimated Fiber Mileage: 538
Targeted Addresses: 5,895
Project Summary: WVBIP LEAD funds will be awarded to Altice USA for the expansion of broadband services to 5,895 targeted addresses in Kanawha and Jackson counties. The project will include the installation of approximately 538 miles of fiber infrastructure to provide broadband services in the project area. One address location in Putnam County is included in the project.
Altice USA: North Lincoln - Alum Creek
LEAD Program Funds: $2,000,000
Matching Funds: $2,304,283
Total Project Cost: $4,304,283
Estimated Fiber Mileage: 230
Targeted Addresses: 3,442
Project Summary: WVBIP LEAD funds will be awarded to Altice USA for the expansion of broadband services to 3,442 targeted addresses in Lincoln and Kanawha counties. The project will include the installation of approximately 230 miles of fiber infrastructure to provide broadband services in the project area.
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Under the West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan, projects selected for award will receive a Preliminary Approval Announcement, which will be published on broadband.wv.gov. Internet Service Providers other than the applicant will receive an opportunity to submit data to the West Virginia Department of Economic Development demonstrating that the ISP currently offers broadband service at 25/3 Mbps or greater to addresses within the Proposed Project Funded Service Area. Data submitted must meet all the requirements described in the Process for Soliciting Information Regarding Unserved Areas, which the Department published on July 12, 2021.
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