Tag: Broadband Expansion

Legislature Reviews Broadband Investment Plan

The review comes after the legislature created a $100 million dollar investment fund for broadband last October as part of Gov. Jim Justice’s West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan (WVBIP).

The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Technology heard a review of future broadband development on Tuesday.

The review comes after the legislature created a $100 million dollar investment fund for broadband last October as part of Gov. Jim Justice’s West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan (WVBIP).

West Virginia Community Advancement and Development’s Director of the Office of Broadband, Kelly Workman, says they are making plans to connect 300,000 new addresses to high speed Internet.

“When we talk about our 300,000 number, we’re talking about specific locations,” Workman said. “So if you do a basic multiplier of 2.4 or 2.2 residents per home, that number is greatly increased when we’re talking about individuals who are unserved in West Virginia.”

Ten line extension projects across regions like the Northern Panhandle, north-central West Virginia, and Kanawha County have been approved as of the interim meeting.

These current projects, funded by grants awarded through the Line Extension Advancement and Development program, are expected to create roughly 450 miles worth of fiber infrastructure and provide high speed internet to 4,650 homes and businesses across the state.

Twenty-nine applications for either technical assistance or implementation have also been submitted by local governments throughout West Virginia through the state’s GigReady program, which is part of the WVBIP and was funded federally through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Similarly, 72 applications have been submitted for the Major Broadband Project Strategies program, which focuses on projects on a larger scale that span multiple counties.

As of last week, nearly 70,000 West Virginians have applied to the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps those with low income pay for Internet service.

West Virginia Receives $136 Million To Expand Broadband

West Virginia is one of the first four states to receive money to expand broadband access under the American Rescue Plan.

West Virginia is one of the first four states to receive money to expand broadband access under the American Rescue Plan.

West Virginia will receive $136 million to bring high-speed internet to 20,000 rural customers, the White House announced Tuesday.

Along with Virginia, Louisiana and New Hampshire, West Virginia is among the first to be approved for COVID recovery funds for broadband.

The program defines high-speed internet as 100 megabits per second or more for uploads and downloads. In West Virginia, the federal dollars will support last-mile extension of broadband to households with the slowest internet speeds.

Still, the amount awarded to the state will only cover about 10 percent of the locations that need a faster connection. That’s where the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act comes in.

West Virginia is set to receive $600 million from the bipartisan law to expand broadband.

Veto Calls For Broadband Carrier Regulation Bill Overhaul

Gov. Jim Justice used his veto power to kill House Bill 4001, known as the broadband bill. That move sends it back to the West Virginia Legislature for reconsideration.

Gov. Jim Justice used his veto power to kill House Bill 4001, known as the broadband bill. That move sends it back to the West Virginia Legislature for reconsideration.

Justice said his veto comes after discovering regulation conflicts with the Federal Communication Act and concerns from broadband providers across the board along with many local government officials.

“I have directed the Department of Economic Development to work with legislative leadership, the sponsors of this bill, and all interested and knowledgeable parties to revisit and perfect this important legislation,” Justice said. “I will request the Legislature take up this important matter, with input from all interested parties, in the upcoming Special Session to make sure the deployment of broadband all over this state is as efficient and as successful as possible.”

The bill sponsor, Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, said the bill mandates the mapping of environmental or historical infrastructure impacts when installing fiber optic cable above ground. He said it also safeguards customers from carriers passing on tax fees, charging for a paper bill instead of a digital bill or paying when service is out.

Linville said he hopes that key players revisiting the bill will still ensure consumer protections from excess fees.

“We’re in a completely unregulated market related to the price of the internet services, so they can charge whatever it is that they wish,” Linville said. “The unfortunate thing is that they sort of give you one price, and then tack on a bunch of things that are non-governmentally imposed on the subscriber.”

Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael leads the state’s broadband expansion plan. He says the bill is not needed, that it over-regulates and contradicts already mandated and fair federal requirements.

Justice said he will request the legislature take up a revised broadband carrier regulation bill in the April special session.

Legislative Priorities: Relaxed COVID Protocols, A Tax Repeal, Broadband Expansion And A Possible Raise For State Workers

West Virginia lawmakers are hoping for a more normal legislative session in 2022 with some relaxed COVID-19 protocols at the statehouse. There’s also renewed hope to reduce or eliminate the personal income tax.

State lawmakers from the Eastern Panhandle met for a Legislative Outlook event over Zoom on Friday. The Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce hosts these events every year ahead of the state legislative session, which begins in mid-January.

The Eastern Panhandle is home to several of the legislature’s key leadership members, such as Senate Judiciary Chair Charles Trump, R-Morgan. Trump said visitors to the capitol this year will likely get to roam the marble halls as they have in years prior to the pandemic.

“I do not think we’re gonna see restrictions on the number of people in the building. There may be, room by room, some limitations on how many people can be jammed into a particular room,” Trump said. “But I’m hoping that we’re going to see some relaxation from what we had early this year.”

It’s not yet clear if masks will be required of visitors.

For Trump, his biggest priority this year will be to follow-up on a resolution passed last session that will allow West Virginia voters to decide in the November general election if the legislature can amend the state’s constitution to reduce the personal property tax on machinery, equipment, inventory and vehicles.

Trump said it will be prudent for lawmakers to be transparent with voters about what the change to the tax could mean.

“I know there is some nervousness among school boards, county commissions and municipalities who are the recipients of those levy monies,” Trump said. “And it’s incumbent upon us to lay out in a statute this year, the specific plans – how those taxes would be reduced [and] how the legislature will replace the funding.”

On the flip side of the discussion over personal property tax, something that did not make it out of the legislature last year was a repeal to the state’s personal income tax. In a surprising turn of events, the bill to repeal the income tax was dramatically shot down in the House of Delegates on the final night of the 2021 session.

House Majority Whip Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, said he thinks this issue will be revisited this year.

“Talking with our colleagues in the Senate, talking with the governor’s office [about the] personal income tax, I think there’s still a strong appetite in both chambers,” Espinosa said of a potential repeal.

Education will also likely be top of mind for lawmakers this session.

Senate Education Chair Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said her goals will be to tweak and strengthen past legislation. She said she hopes to perfect a bill that requires cameras in special education classrooms, and she also wants to introduce legislation that she says would “tighten” physical education requirements in schools.

Additionally, Rucker said a big priority will be to reform the higher education funding model.

“I’m really hopeful we’re going to find a funding model that is going to fund higher education in a fair way, that is going to take partisan politics [and] take political influence out of the equation,” Rucker said. “It’s going to be based on whether the institutions are fulfilling their missions [and] doing what they set out to do and helping students graduate.”

Charter school expansion in West Virginia, which was one of the bigger topics in education last session, will not likely be a topic this year, according to Rucker.

Lawmakers also mentioned their hopes to tackle other issues such as more broadband expansion, with the goal of getting high speed internet in every West Virginia home.

Rucker said there are also discussions happening about salary increases for public employees, including teachers.

The 2022 West Virginia Legislative session will begin on Jan. 12.

Some W.Va. Schools, Libraries To Receive Broadband Expansion Funding

A number of schools and libraries in West Virginia are receiving thousands — some even a million — of federal dollars to improve broadband internet access for students and communities.

The Wyoming and Logan County School systems will see the biggest boost from a federal grant, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office.

Both districts will see more than $1 million for purchasing laptops, tablets, WiFi hotspots, modems, routers and for supporting broadband connections.

Other districts like Cabell, Monroe and Ohio county schools will see thousands of dollars worth of support. Libraries in Kanawha and Cabell counties will also receive funding.

“Broadband access is vital for West Virginians to compete for good-paying jobs, finish their homework and attract new residents to the state,” Manchin said in a news release.

The grant totals more than $4 million and comes from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund.

The fund was authorized in the American Rescue Plan earlier this year to provide more than $7 billion to expand distance learning and connectivity around the country, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual awards include:

  • $1,827,974 – Wyoming County School District, Pineville
  • $1,175,180 – Logan County School District, Logan 
  • $406,573 – Cabell County Schools, Huntington 
  • $369, 611 – West Virginia State Department of Education
  • $137,124 – Kanawha County Public Library System, Charleston 
  • $110,074 – Cabell County Public Library System, Huntington 
  • $45,000 – Ohio County School District, Wheeling 
  • $35,379 – Central Catholic High School, Wheeling
  • $34,649 – Monroe County School District, Union 
  • $23,111 – St. Michael School, Wheeling 
  • $17,056 – Madonna High School, Weirton
  • $6,633 – Corpus Christi School, Wheeling

W.Va. Needs Better Mapping Data to Receive Federal Broadband Dollars

West Virginia’s broadband needs help, but without some key data, the state could miss out on federal money.

A report released last month says that deficient mapping of broadband information could make some places with poor connectivity ineligible for financial support.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as well as Sen. Joe Manchin are collecting mapping data to help give parts of West Virginia a chance to receive funding.

The (FCC) will distribute $20.4 billion to states from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The funding depends on mapping data that shows “currently unserved” regions. But a recent report by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) argues that a region without sufficient mapping often needs broadband the most.

Broadband maps of West Virginia are often lacking. The report says that the data gap means the FCC could end up sending funds to wealthy and urban areas that may already have more connectivity than rural counterparts.

Although Phase I of the money has already been allocated, Manchin is encouraging West Virginians to submit speed tests to the FCC in order to improve the data, and eventually expand broadband connectivity.

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