CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of both the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations Committees, and Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today announced that West Virginia will receive $1,210,800,969.85 in funding through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to deploy high-speed internet networks.
The BEAD program, and the funding for it, was made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Additionally, Senator Capito has worked diligently to not only advocate for the creation of this program in the IIJA, but also to ensure accurate mapping data. Specifically, she has raised concerns with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) about the past inaccuracies in their broadband maps, given broadband funding through the IIJA is directly tied to these maps.
“Connecting West Virginia has been a top priority of mine since Day One in the U.S. Senate, and today’s announcement has the ability to lead us to a major breakthrough in that effort,” Senator Capito said. “I have consistently worked with those involved in this process at both the state and federal levels to ensure our maps are as accurate as possible and West Virginia receives its fair share of funding. This funding, which is the largest amount of broadband funding awarded to the state to date, will assist in our efforts to provide communities with the resources they need to improve connectivity overall. We are on the cusp of a major breakthrough – one that I am committed to seeing though.”
