By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is sitting on more money per capita for broadband expansion than any other state, but those funds have not translated to a single person being connected. But federal and state officials told attendees of an annual conference that’s about to change.
Tuesday marked the first day of the 2024 West Virginia Broadband Summit at the Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston. The annual event brings together industry leaders in the world of broadband and telecommunications, representatives of construction and labor, and state and federal officials.
The timing of this year’s summit comes just a few days before the Thursday, Oct. 24, deadline for grant funding applications for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program through the West Virginia Department of Economic Development’s Office of Broadband.
The Office of Broadband began its pre-application period for BEAD-funded grants on March 18 through May 30. The project application portal opened on Aug. 26. West Virginia was one of three states to be awarded its federal BEAD funding in June 2023.
“We are ahead of other states in the region and ahead of other states in the nation,” said Kelly Workman, director of the Office of Broadband.