/ A rusted satellite dish, from days past stands beside an empty home in Frost, WV on Aug. 19, 2020.
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More than a decade ago, West Virginia officials faced a gargantuan problem without enough money to fix it. They earmarked $5 million toward fixing the state’s slow, unreliable internet, then spent years bickering over how to spend it with little progress made on the problem.
But now, they’ll have another chance with a lot more money and much, much higher stakes.
The offices of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority in Charleston. (File Photo)
CHARLESTON The West Virginia Economic Development Authority voted Tuesday to award the first loan insurance requests for four state internet providers who received winning bids in last Fall’s rural broadband auction, while a lawmaker continues to ask about one company’s ability to deliver.
The EDA approved loan insurance requests for Bridgeport-based Citynet for a loan up to $16 million from MVB Bank; Preston County-based Digital Connections/PRODIGI for a loan up to $2.6 million from Clear Mountain Bank; Bluefield, Va.-based GigaBeam for a loan up to $8.4 million from Citizens Bank of West Virginia; and a transfer of a loan up to $3 million for Buckhannon-based Micrologic from Citizens Bank of Weston to Citizens Bank of West Virginia.
For The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON The West Virginia Public Service Commission could approve Frontier Communication’s bankruptcy reorganization plan next month, though Frontier plans to use its winning bid of federal rural broadband dollars to sweeten the deal, raising concerns.
Last Friday, the PSC made available the joint stipulation and settlement agreement between Frontier, PSC staff, and PSC Consumer Advocate Division, and the Communication Workers of America union. If approved by the full commission on Tuesday, Jan. 19, West Virginia would be the 11th state to accept Frontier’s bankruptcy reorganization plan.
According to the proposed agreement, Frontier’s operations in West Virginia would be known as “InvestCo.” As part of the designation, Frontier agreed to voluntarily deploy gigabit broadband services to no less than 150,000 locations in West Virginia by Dec. 31, 2027.
Staff writer
CHARLESTON The West Virginia Public Service Commission could approve Frontier Communication’s bankruptcy reorganization plan next month, though Frontier plans to use its winning bid of federal rural broadband dollars to sweeten the deal, raising concerns.
Last Friday, the PSC made available the joint stipulation and settlement agreement between Frontier, PSC staff, and PSC Consumer Advocate Division, and the Communication Workers of America union. If approved by the full commission on Jan. 19, West Virginia would be the 11th state to accept Frontier’s bankruptcy reorganization plan.
According to the proposed agreement, Frontier’s operations in West Virginia would be known as “InvestCo.” As part of the designation, Frontier agreed to voluntarily deploy gigabit broadband services to no less than 150,000 locations in West Virginia by Dec. 31, 2027.