Broadband Expansion Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Broadband’s Digital Equity Plan Ramping Up

Part of the $1.2 billion statewide broadband coverage project is the Digital Equity Plan, giving residents the skills and tools to make the most of their internet connection.

West Virginia is now in line to get about $9 million federal dollars to continue implementing its digital equity plan.

Derek Zelkowski is the Digital Equity Coordinator in the West Virginia Office of Broadband. He defines digital equity as anyone having reliable internet service and knowing how to use it.

“To have internet access, skills and tools, in order to use the internet to its fullest potential,” Zelkowski said. “Whether that be for economic reasons, for social reasons, medical, if you need to use telehealth, and so on and so forth.”

Zelkowski said 97 percent of West Virginia falls under a digital inclusion catagory, having many of the barriers and populations most historically considered underrepresented or underserved that call for internet access and training.

“It’s rural residents, what they call covered households, which are households earning at or below 150 percent of the poverty line,” Zelkowski said. “It’s aging residents, racial and ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, those that are either illiterate or speak English as a second language. It’s the incarcerated in non-federal facilities.”

He says digital equity programs will work in tandem with advancing broadband infrastructure development. The state has partnered with the Department of Education, community groups and the state Library Commission.

“Public libraries have been doing this work for the past 30 years,” Zelkowski said. “You can go to a library and get digital skills, resources, education resources, you can get a laptop on loan.”

Zelkowski said the first round of state digital equity programs will expand over the next five to seven years.

“The period of performance attached to this specific grant will be five years,” Zelkowski said. “Next year, NTIA, (National Information and Telecommunications Administration) will release the second of three tranches of this funding, the current one is a little bit over $700 million for the whole country. And the next one will be probably a little over $300 million, and then it’ll be the same the following year. So it’s three grants that will each have an overlapping five-year period of performance.”

Zelkowski reminds West Virginians that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will end very soon. April is the final month of the full $30 benefit, with a partial benefit in May. He encouraged all West Virginia households enrolled in the program to contact their internet service provider to confirm the status of their service and their monthly costs after the program ends.

State Broadband Plan Approved

According to the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, more than a third of all West Virginians do not have access to high-speed internet.

West Virginia has taken another step to improving broadband access for all.

West Virginia is one of four states, as well as Puerto Rico, to have its Digital Equity Plan accepted by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Acceptance of the plan will allow the states to access the $1.44 billion Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program when it launches in the coming months.

According to the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, more than a third of all West Virginians do not have access to high-speed internet, and many of those with access cannot afford the price of a connection or face other barriers to effectively use the internet.

The Digital Equity Plan proposes to realize affordable connectivity for all West Virginians, secure device access and affordability as well as improve the population’s digital skills.

Justice Discusses Business Debt, Project Financing And Babydog

A Virginia bank has moved to auction off the Greenbrier Sporting Club owned by the Justice family, but Gov. Jim Justice says it won’t happen.

Carter Bank and Trust, one of the Justice family’s biggest lenders, is moving to auction off the Greenbrier Sporting Club to satisfy millions in debt. In a regular briefing Wednesday afternoon, Justice said he did not believe a sale would happen.

“We want to protect the sporting club and all those members in every single way,” he said. “I want to tell you the track record through and through of exactly what’s happened. And I’ll be able to do it someday, but I can’t do it right now. All I would say is stay tuned. Watch what’s going to happen.”

In November, Justice and several of his companies, including the Greenbrier Resort, sued the Virginia-based bank for $1 billion. Justice said that at the time of the death of the bank’s founder, Worth Carter, in 2017, his companies owed the bank around $780 million but has paid down $480 million in the intervening years.

“I want Carter Bank to be paid off in full, but really and truly Carter Bank has got a real dilemma on your hand,” he said. “Because on one hand, we may very well owe Carter Bank $300 million. But on another hand, we feel like they owe us in excess of a billion, and so all this stuff is gonna come out.”

In a legal notice published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail Tuesday, Feb. 6, Carter Bank and Trust estimated the value of the Greenbrier Sporting Club to be $250 million.

Justice insisted his focus will continue to be on the duties of his office.

“My kids got it, they got it and they’re on it,” he said. “I’m way, way, way in the background, and there’s no way on earth that I’m going to take one second of focus off of what my job has been since day one. I put up with this nonsense the whole time I’ve been here and everything. But absolutely, there’s no way I’ve taken my eye off the ball.”

The governor is not directly involved in the day-to-day operation of his family’s business dealings, which are overseen by his children. Earlier this month, two other creditors agreed to sell a helicopter to help settle a debt from another Justice-owned business.

Other Business

Earlier in the briefing, the governor announced funding for several programs as well as the success of several others. He began with broadband, announcing $33 million in Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) Grants awarded to 10 projects by the West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan.

“These awards will enhance the broadband access in nine counties impacting 5,200 families and businesses together that previously lacked significant connectivity,” Justice said.

Justice also gave an update on Operation R.I.P. Potholes. Announced last week, the initiative aims to take advantage of recent clear weather to conduct road repairs.

“In that time, our DOH road crews have patched approximately 1,600 miles of roadway and laid down 1,250 tons of asphalt,” he said.

The governor also highlighted the recent graduation of 53 new West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation officers, as well as recognizing zero staff vacancies at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County.

“This accomplishment is especially noteworthy considering the facility had a 30 percent vacancy rate in September of 2023,” Justice said.

The Southern Regional Jail has been a focal point for community activists calling for reforms following the indictment of six former correctional officers in the beating death of Quantez Burks and the death of an additional inmate. Addressing the staffing shortage across the state’s correctional system was a focal point of the governor’s State of State address this year when he proposed $21 million for the pay increases for correctional officers.

Babydog

At the end of the briefing, Justice gave Babydog’s, his pet bulldog, prediction for the upcoming Super Bowl Sunday. He also acknowledged Babydog will undergo two surgeries to address leg injuries and asked for prayers.

“She’s got some probably tough stuff ahead,” Justice said. “Only thing is a Bulldog getting put to sleep two different times on two fairly significant surgeries isn’t any fun. But we’re going to take care of that and hope and pray everything comes out great there.”

WVNS’ Jessica Farrish first reported that the governor mentioned the impending surgeries Monday during an event at Midland Trails High School. He previously mentioned Babydog’s injury to explain her absence from the announcement of LG Electronics’ investment in the state at the start of the year. At the time, Justice said Babydog was injured due to her weight after jumping down from a chair.

Babydog gained national attention as the mascot for the state’s vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Informational Pickets Go Statewide As CWA, Frontier Contract Negotiations Continue

The picket lines at Frontier offices from Martinsburg to Huntington are informational pickets.

The picket lines at Frontier offices from Martinsburg to Huntington are informational pickets. CWA Local 2001 President J.D. Thompson said reasons for the pickets were threefold.

“We’re letting the company know, hey, we’re still here and we’re not going away because we want a fair contract,” Thompson said. “It’s, of course, informational for the public, letting everybody know that we’re fighting right now. And last, it’s showing support for our bargaining committee that they’ve been putting in some long, hard days negotiating.”

About 1,400 Communications Workers of America union members, largely from West Virginia, are currently working without a contract. The contract extension reached during bargaining expired last Saturday. A status quo on work, wages and benefits is in effect while negotiations continue on a new agreement.

When the original contract between the CWA and Frontier Communications expired on Aug. 6, the union said that major bargaining issues included job security provisions that kept jobs local and limited the use of subcontractors in expanding broadband in West Virginia.

A Frontier spokesperson said on Tuesday that job security concerns and what was termed “build exclusivity,” meaning that jobs from the $1.2 billion in broadband money would be only given to union workers, are not on the negotiating table, and “union employees will do the lion’s share of the new broadband connectivity work.”

Frontier issued the following statement:

“We have been bargaining in good faith with CWA since June and are working with urgency to reach an agreement that continues to provide our employees with some of the best jobs in West Virginia. We provide a critical service to the state and will continue to rely heavily on our union employees to build out our high-speed, fiber infrastructure. We will continue to meet with CWA bargaining officials to come to an agreement that is good for our employees, our customers and our company.”

Both sides say medical benefits for active and retired employees remain in contention.

Thompson said he is not part of the bargaining team and not sure just where issues stand, but he remains concerned over the broadband work Frontier may issue to subcontractors.

“We want our CWA members to be the ones that are actually installing and maintaining the network indefinitely with the infrastructure bill that was passed,” Thompson said.

The CWA Local 2001 website noted on Sunday, Aug. 20 that “The Committees made significant progress on Work at Home, progress on Jobs, continued progress on Active Benefits and are still actively engaged in bargaining on Wages and Retiree Benefits.”

The Communications Workers of America issued the following statement on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023:

“CWA members at Frontier care deeply about the communities they serve, and will continue to work without a contract as long as we see meaningful progress at the bargaining table towards the contract we have earned and deserve. The contract between CWA and Frontier Communications has expired as of 11:59 pm, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Because there has been progress made in bargaining, we have agreed to continue to report to work and maintain the status quo while negotiations continue. More than ever, our customers rely on us to deliver quality services and solve problems to connect them to telehealth appointments, work-at-home capabilities and even online learning opportunities. A union contract protects both the rights of dedicated workers on the job, and the quality service that our customers rely on. As talks continue, we will evaluate the progress on a regular basis and take necessary action if negotiations are not productive.”

W.Va.’s $1.2 Billion Broadband Connectivity Program Underway

Plans to connect the last 300,000 locations in West Virginia with affordable internet went public on Friday.

In laying out the plan to spend more than $1.2 billion federal dollars for broadband deployment, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she asked an internet expert a few years ago what it would take to get the last West Virginian connected.

“The things he said were time and money,” Capito said. “Well, we’ve got the money now, the time should be condensed.”

Gathered in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol, state and federal leaders explained that Implementing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program dictates spending the still unsecured funding on connecting first the unserved then the underserved. The funds will be released in installments after the state’s five-year action plan, due August 12, is approved. You can see the West Virginia Deployment timeline here.

West Virginia Office of Broadband director Kelly Workman said after the submitted plan, comes a series of proposals.

“Up next is our initial proposal,” Workman said. “The initial proposal includes 20 different sections. Basically, the state of West Virginia will be telling the federal government how we intend to spend this money, where we will spend it, how we will execute our challenge process and so that will go through those 20 sections and answer all those questions.”

A national broadband project leader, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce and chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Alan Davidson said before he writes a big check, the state must pass a big homework assignment.

“There are a whole series of requirements about how the money will be spent, how the grants will be given, and just making sure that there’s good oversight,” Davidson said. “So this money gets spent quickly, but wisely, and that we’ve got good hooks in at the back end to make sure it’s getting spent the right way.”

Davidson pointed out that many West Virginians are eligible for the $30/Month Affordable Connectivity Program.

The roadblocks to statewide broadband connectivity have always been the high provider costs and challenges of running cable up the last mountain or the end of the deepest hollow.

Workman says concerns over equipment supply chain issues and bucket trucks back ordered have been planned for and addressed.

“They have scaled up,” Workman said. “We are hearing that most of the supply chain issues are leveling out. The providers are telling us that it can be managed. We proactively reached out to the providers in West Virginia, to say, what would you like to see in this plan? What can we do to facilitate your expansion to the most rural parts of our state? All of their comments will be integrated into our plan. And I think that that process in our relationships with those providers, is extremely beneficial to us going forward.”

Davidson says his boss, President Biden, likes to say this isn’t just a connection program, it’s a new jobs program, creating up to 150,000 nationwide.

“And we want to make sure that those jobs are filled by the communities that are being served by these networks,” he said. “This is a wakeup call for folks. Hey, we’re saying these jobs are coming and we’re trying to do all we can to make sure that people are trained up and ready for them.”

West Virginia is hoping to secure the first 20 percent of the funding, about $240 million, this time next year. The remaining 80 percent, roughly $960 million, will be distributed in 2025 once the federal government approves the state’s final proposal and reviews how well it complied with its initial proposal. The plan outlines statewide broadband connectivity to be completed by 2028.

$1.2 Billion Coming To Connect Every West Virginia Household To Internet

The funding was allocated based on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband coverage maps. New maps out this past May show that West Virginia has the least connectivity of any state in the country after Alaska.

The just over $1.2 billion announced for West Virginia Monday comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Both of West Virginia’s U.S. senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, announced the $1,210,800,969.85 in federal funding to the Mountain State through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

In a Zoom press conference, Manchin and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said new mapping uncovered more than 86,000 underserved or unserved West Virginia state locations – including 300,000 households.

Manchin compared this broadband development era to hearing his grandparents talk about the rural electrification of West Virginia back in the 1930s.

“Maybe 10 or 15 percent of West Virginia have electricity, because we’re so rural,” Manchin said. “With that rural electrification, it changed people’s lives, it really did. The same thing is going to happen with this.”

Raimondo said the funding will help overcome all topographic obstacles.

The reason that hasn’t happened is because it’s very expensive to lay the fiber in a rural area, or in a mountainous area,” she said. “The internet providers haven’t done it because it doesn’t make economic sense for them.”

Raimondo said federal measures will ensure every home has access to affordable, high speed internet.

“This is plenty of money to get to everyone,” Raimondo said. “We mean the small farm or family at the end of the long road in rural West Virginia, because we’re going to subsidize the companies to make that infrastructure investment. Then we’re going to hold them accountable to provide the internet at a price that, that family can afford.”

Raimondo said the money won’t go out until the state is able to show how they’re going to implement the BEAD program. Manchin said his staff and state offices, working with internet providers, have been coordinating the coverage plan.

“We’ve been looking at our underserved areas for what, seven, eight years, so we pretty much know where they are,” Manchin said. “We’ve been in contact for quite some time with the State Economic Development Department and all the different development offices around the state, trying to make sure they have a plan. We’re pretty far down the road, I think.”

An announcement from the Biden administration Monday detailed that every U.S. state, territory and protectorate received a share of more than $42 billion to improve broadband connectivity.

Neighboring Ohio, for example, will receive $793,688,107.63 to deploy affordable, reliable high-speed internet service. More than 183,700 homes and small businesses in Ohio lack access to a high-speed Internet connection.