Appalachian Power to help lay broadband fiber in region

Jun. 17—High-speed broadband will soon be available to another 22,000 households in Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Summers and Raleigh counties.

That's according to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who announced a $25 million federal funding award Friday that will allow Appalachian Power to lay additional fiber in the five counties for broadband purposes.

Manchin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the $25,054,092 million award is coming from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). It will allow Appalachian Power to lay fiber along its existing rights-of-way and infrastructure in the five county area.

Manchin said the funding is coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program. The 22,000 additional households to be served in Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Summers and Raleigh counties builds upon the initial 12,000 households that were connected through the program in Logan and Mingo counties, according to Manchin.

"Access to affordable, reliable broadband is vital to the success and growth of our communities across West Virginia," Manchin said. "That's why I helped author the $65 billion broadband provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law including dedicated funding for middle mile projects like this one. This announcement is great news for Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer and Summers counties, and I applaud Appalachian Power for their innovative approach to making necessary improvements to their grid while also bringing broadband connectivity to Southern West Virginia."

"Connecting West Virginia with strong, reliable broadband service has been a priority since my first day in the Senate," Capito added. "Through my Capito Connect Program, I have worked to make broadband expansion in our state, and today is another big step forward. I'm thrilled to see NTIA providing support to southern West Virginia so we can continue our work to connect that last home, last school, and last business with reliable broadband service."

Capito said the purpose of the grant program is to expand and extend middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting areas that are unserved or underserved in terms of high-speed broadband.

The company isn't providing broadband. It is simply installing the fiber that a broadband provider can utilize to provide service to the area, Appalachian Power spokesman Phil Moye said Friday.

"We don't actually provide internet service or anything like that — we are just putting the infrastructure along our facilities so a provider can access our services," Moye said. "It will enable broadband service providers to make broadband available. It makes it such that an internet service provider can be in that area and provide service to the folks who want it."

Moye said the fiber will be installed on company utility poles. He said the next step for Appalachian Power will be to seek approval for the project with the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

In 2020, West Virginia became just the second state to permit utilities to lay additional fiber for broadband purposes, according to Manchin's office. That is how Appalachian Power will be able to assist with the latest project.

Manchin said he included a provision in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to incentivize utilities like Appalachian Power to build middle-mile fiber.

Public utilities like Appalachian Power already own the rights-of-way and existing infrastructure, according to Manchin's office.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens