CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) — When families in rural West Virginia finally connect to high-speed internet, they can thank legislators who did the hard work in Charleston years before the first fiber line was strung
New data confirms the Mountain State leads the nation in internet growth, and once-isolated areas are seeing those results firsthand. The numbers don’t lie. Since 2019, fiber and cable access across West Virginia has surged from 200,000 locations to nearly 700,000 — a 245 percent increase. Download speeds have leaped 83 percent. In 2024, West Virginia posted the highest connectivity improvement of any state in America.
“Ensuring every West Virginian can have the best access to information, education, work and healthcare has been the cornerstone of my public service since I first took office,” said Delegate Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, who has been Chairman of the House Environment, Infrastructure and Technology Committee.
“Daniel has been instrumental in carrying the torch as a Chairman of our Joint Interim Committee on Technology and Infrastructure,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay. Hanshaw, who previously served on the state’s Broadband Enhancement Council, and appointed Linville to succeed him in the position in 2018. “He has seen the need for crafting the kind of regulatory reforms that have made this expansion possible and has never let up.”
The results of this legislative leadership are visible across West Virginia, showing up as real projects in many backyards. Twenty-five broadband projects are actively under construction statewide, with 18 more in design. More than 1,100 miles of new fiber have already been deployed, connecting thousands more West Virginia homes and businesses, before the major federal BEAD funding even begins flowing.
Years before Washington’s grant programs materialized, the West Virginia Legislature streamlined permitting, reformed regulations and created an environment where internet providers wanted to invest.
“The Legislature cut the red tape, private companies did the building and communities got connected,” Linville said.
The BEAD program, recently approved by federal authorities, will build on that foundation, bringing fiber to 73,000 additional locations across all 55 counties. Approximately 12,500 miles of new infrastructure will be installed, with 94 percent of connections delivered via fiber. Private providers are contributing $200 million in matching funds on just the BEAD program, a testament to confidence in West Virginia’s business-friendly approach.
“For a student in Gilmer County finishing homework after basketball practice, this is a game-changer, and for a small business owner in Mason County who can finally process transactions reliably, it’s a lifeline,” Hanshaw said. “For a small, rural healthcare provider to be able to offer telehealth appointments, it’s modern medicine arriving at last.”
West Virginia started this decade as one of the least connected states in America and will end it as a national model for rural broadband deployment, through legislative vision and action, combined with public and private partners.
“We must thank our partners from the Executive Branch, as well as the private sector and the many advocates who have collaborated on this throughout the past decade,” Linville said. “What began as a promise on the Capitol steps has become a reality in West Virginia living rooms, classrooms and businesses with even more to come.”
