Last week, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that the state had finalized its $1.2 billion plan to bring high-speed broadband to homes and businesses in the state.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring broadband to every corner of our state and help every West Virginian reach their full potential,” he said.
But buried in the fine print, thousands of West Virginian locations will be left out.
The plan cuts the number of structures served by more than 40,000.
About half of those were eliminated from the program because new high-speed service was made available to them, according to the state’s broadband office. More than 80 of those that were cut included libraries and other locations intended to make broadband available to the general public.
More than 18,000 were cut because they were reclassified as not serviceable, because some were found to be accessory buildings, or other types of structures that were not occupied homes or businesses.
Some homes had what is known as fixed wireless, a type of internet delivered by cell towers or local antennas.
The new plan removed the previous preference for fiber and adopted a technology-neutral approach, meaning fixed wireless, cable and even satellite providers like Starlink can now compete on equal footing for federal broadband dollars.
Bill Bissett, chairman of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, said fiber-based internet is the better long-term solution for broadband in the state because of West Virginia’s topography.
“The good news is that we’re moving forward, though further delays only drive up costs,” he said.
What’s Fixed Wireless?
Fixed wireless internet works as radio antenna towers send signals through the air rather than through fiber cables or signals from satellites.
Households receive those signals through a small antenna or fixed router, usually mounted near a window or roof. The most common examples are 5G home wi-fi boxes from cellular carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon.
These carriers supply some 240,000 locations with average to fast internet speeds, according to state broadband coverage data.
Unlicensed fixed wireless works much the same way, except that signals can face interference from other providers or the public, which often slows internet speeds.
Much of the unlicensed fixed wireless coverage in West Virginia comes from a patchwork of small, local fixed wireless providers like Neubeam, UltraWISP and SkyPacket, which serve nearly 6,500 households across the state.