Mountain State Times

Washington, DC – On May 30, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced more than 86,000 new unserved locations in West Virginia according to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) latest update to its broadband coverage map. Senator Manchin authored provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocating funds to each state based on their proportion of unserved areas, requiring that funding be based on updated maps, and establishing a challenge process to give states, communities, and individuals a voice in the process.  

“Since the release of the FCC’s updated map in November, I have worked with the State Broadband Office, this Administration, and communities across the state to ensure that West Virginia has the most accurate representation in the map as possible,” said Senator Manchin. “As a result of my provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this map will provide the basis for billions of dollars in infrastructure funding. Today’s update shows that 271,000 locations in West Virginia, an increase of more than 86,000, are now eligible for broadband funding. This is exactly why I fought for years to fix the map and included a process so that anyone could challenge its accuracy. I will continue to do everything I can to ensure we have the funding we need for every West Virginian to get access to reliable, affordable broadband.”

In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Senator Manchin created the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Senator Manchin authored the provision that allocates funding to each state based on its proportion of unserved areas in the updated FCC broadband coverage map, as well as additional funding for high-cost areas like West Virginia that are more difficult to serve.

For years, Senator Manchin has fought to update the maps, submitting more than 2,400 speedtests to the FCC on behalf of West Virginians to prove that its maps were inaccurate. As a result of these efforts, Senator Manchin secured provisions in the Broadband DATA Act in 2020 that authorized the FCC to update its coverage map and allowed West Virginians to see if the FCC’s map accurately depicted whether they had broadband coverage at their address, who provided such coverage, and the type of technology being used. If the FCC map was inaccurate, West Virginians were able to provide direct input to the FCC by submitting a challenge to the map.

In December, Senator Manchin’s office held a webinar with the State Broadband Office urging folks to submit challenges to the map, which will provide the basis for the billions of dollars in broadband funding that Senator Manchin included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

A timeline of Senator Manchin’s efforts to address broadband coverage issues can be found below or here.

Original source can be found here.