This is the final eligibility map for the federal BEAD program in West Virginia. It shows all unserved and underserved locations in West Virginia that will serve as broadband project locations. The map was approved in August 2024.
This is the final eligibility map for the federal BEAD program in West Virginia. It shows all unserved and underserved locations in West Virginia that will serve as broadband project locations. The map was approved in August 2024.
For generations now, West Virginians have been asked to wait their turn: for economic investment, for infrastructure, for opportunity.
With broadband, West Virginia was going to take the lead for a change. Under the leadership of Kelly Workman and her team at the West Virginia Office of Broadband, the state was on track to achieve something historic: a fiber-optic connection to every home and business that needs one. This is not a pipe dream or a press release; it’s a detailed, well-executed plan, backed by local expertise, real community engagement and a once-in-a-generation investment from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
In an era when trust in government is low and the bar for delivery is even lower, West Virginia is showing the nation what effective, locally led infrastructure deployment looks like. Their BEAD draft plan prioritized world-class fiber connections, leveraged the deep knowledge of community providers and was focused, finally, on the people and places that too often get left behind. The folks running this program aren’t looking for headlines. They’re looking to connect every West Virginian to the modern economy, to education, to healthcare and to opportunity.
They put this plan together on time, and more than $150 million under budget. It’s a triumph for every county in the state and will finally level the playing field so West Virginia’s communities can compete with the rest of the modern world.
Let’s be clear: The plan is finished. The companies and crews are ready to go. Y’all could start building this network tomorrow. But just as the hard work setting all this up begins to bear fruit, West Virginians are getting the rug pulled out from under them again.
The new federal secretary of commerce has signaled a troubling willingness to rewrite the rules in the middle of the game, making changes that would undermine state-level decision-making, inject delays and divert resources away from the very communities BEAD was designed to serve.
Put clearly, they want to take away the fiber connections rural West Virginia families and businesses deserve, and replace them with, effectively, coupons for satellite service. If the department pushes forward with these changes, it will lock these folks and these communities on the wrong side of a digital divide, with slower connections and higher monthly bills. Just the higher satellite bills alone will cost more than $800 extra a year, compared to fiber, a huge hit to family budgets just to get online.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has already stepped up, making clear that she stands with West Virginians who expect follow-through, not foot-dragging. But this fight has to be bigger than one voice in the Senate, however powerful.
The entire West Virginia congressional delegation -- and especially the governor -- must make themselves heard, loudly and urgently. Washington needs to understand that, for West Virginia, this is not just about broadband. It’s about fairness, about future growth and about not being left behind again.
The plan is worked. The funding is there. The private sector stepped up. The leadership is in place. Now is the time for every elected official in West Virginia to demand that Washington honor its commitments and let the state finish the job.
Evan Feinman was director of the federal BEAD program funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill to get broadband internet to every American home and business that needs it.
