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After years of planning, West Virginia is on the cusp of a historic broadband expansion. But just as broadband officials are gearing up to roll out projects later this year, a new federal review threatens to slow everything down.
During a House committee meeting in late February, Kelly Workman, director of the West Virginia Office of Broadband, told committee members they were nearing completion of the final application for a vast broadband investment due in April.
“There’s really not a day to waste, we’ve waited long enough to see this happen,” she told lawmakers.
The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program is a $42 billion federal investment to fund broadband projects nationwide. West Virginia secured one of the largest pots of money with $1.2 billion. The investment is set to bring high-speed internet to over 114,000 homes and businesses across the state.
West Virginia has made strides in preparing for the investment, but any federal changes could delay projects and leave West Virginians waiting even longer for high-speed, reliable internet.
Just a week after Workman spoke, federal officials announced a “rigorous review” of the program.
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the previous administration had “favoritism towards certain technologies and burdensome regulations” and had not “connected a single person to the internet.”
Currently, the program favors traditional on-the-ground internet providers because fiber is the most reliable. Lutnick said the department would make the program tech neutral.
That could allow nontraditional providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink to receive a larger piece of the federal funding. Nearly three years ago, Starlink was denied $900 million in federal subsidies for failing to deliver adequate internet speeds to customers.
Blair Levin, a telecommunications policy expert at New Street Research, said he anticipates the Trump administration will remove requirements on environmental reviews, workforce regulations and equity and inclusion incentives.
“States aren’t starting from scratch, but any changes to the program will delay projects by at least a year,” he said. “They’ve spent three years planning, so let them finish.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, said in a statement she supports any improvements to the program but didn’t want West Virginia to “wait longer than is necessary or to have to redo” its proposals and applications.
But for now, things are moving along as planned, said Sen. Robbie Morris, R-Randolph, who previously served as chairman of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council.
He said federal officials have not changed the upcoming application deadline, and broadband officials are waiting to hear more. Morris said he is working with Gov. Patrick Morrisey to get him up to speed on the program.
In recent years, West Virginians told Mountain State Spotlight they needed reliable internet. In Raleigh County, one resident said it was a “literal lifeline” for work, and others have complained about outages and high costs.
Ahead of the funding, broadband officials have been working with regulators, utility companies, and internet providers to address issues that could stall deployment including pole attachments — a longstanding issue the state has faced.
In previous years, lawmakers tried addressing pole issues but were met with opposition from both internet and utility companies. In 2017, then-Gov. Jim Justice signed a sweeping broadband bill that met pushback from internet providers like Frontier.
The company sued and argued that a portion of the bill conflicted with federal law because it allowed third parties to tamper with its equipment on poles without notifying the company. A federal judge threw out that part of the law.
Today, pole disputes continue to be a problem. State regulators have written new rules aimed at fixing the issue before the BEAD funds are dispersed.
Bill Bissett, the new chairman of the state’s Broadband Enhancement Council said funding from the program is critical to delivering broadband to West Virginians who need it and ending the state’s digital divide.
He said he’s hoping that any changes to BEAD will allow state broadband officials to proceed without any delays.
“$1.2 billion in funding for broadband deployment in West Virginia is simply a game changer,” he said. “The end goal is to get everyone connected and this significant funding will move us much closer to our goal.”
Reach reporter Tre Spencer at tre@mountainstatespotlight.org.
