Chris Schulz Published

More Money For Broadband Expansion Announced

An ethernet cable connects a router device inside a communications room at an office in London on May 15, 2017.
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Gov. Jim Justice announced a third round of grants for broadband expansion Monday, the largest investment yet in his Billion-Dollar Broadband Strategy.

More than $20 million will go to broadband projects across the state and will result in more than 600 miles of new fiber infrastructure through several projects.

The state’s investment in this round makes an additional $13 million available from other funding sources, for a total broadband infrastructure investment of more than $34 million.

This is the first round of grants awarded through the Major Broadband Project Strategies (MBPS) program.

Grants were previously announced in January and March totaling more than $17 million and almost $4 million, respectively.

According to the governor’s office, in total, more than $60 million has been committed to 16 major broadband infrastructure projects across West Virginia.

Additional approvals will be announced soon.