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State broadband office reports BEAD/ARPA progress: 42 ARPA projects, BEAD plan moving toward final submission
Summary
Kelly Workman, director of West Virginia’s Office of Broadband, told the committee that 42 ARPA-funded projects are under way (nearly 4,000 miles of fiber across 38 counties serving about 40,000 locations) and that the state’s $1.21 billion BEAD application has advanced through challenge and full-application phases with final submission and federal pre‑award review scheduled early 2025. Workman outlined remaining mapping, permitting and match issues.
Kelly Workman, director of the West Virginia Office of Broadband, gave the committee a status update on federal broadband programs and state deployment efforts.
ARPA projects: Workman said the Office is managing 42 ARPA-funded broadband projects that will add almost 4,000 miles of new fiber and, when complete, are expected to serve roughly 40,000 West Virginia locations across 38 counties. Four ARPA projects are complete, 12 are in active construction, eight are in preconstruction and 18 are in permitting or design.
BEAD process and funding: Workman reviewed the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) timeline. She said West Virginia’s initial BEAD proposal was approved by NTIA on April 18, 2024 and the state is operating under a $1.21 billion allocation. The state drew a $5 million planning component earlier and has advanced through the full‑application and extension phases; Workman said the office will finish application review and move toward pre‑award review with NTIA in December 2024–March 2025 and must submit the final proposal by April 17, 2025.
Coverage and dashboards: Following the challenge process, Workman said BEAD-eligible locations number about 114,000 out of roughly 900,408 serviceable locations statewide. The ARPA project dashboard is operational and shows funded ARPA projects; due to vendor license restrictions the office is still refining how point-level BEAD data will be shown publicly but aims to provide district- and county-level views for members by year-end.
Barriers and next steps: Workman highlighted remaining hurdles including match and letters of credit, pole-attachment permitting, workforce constraints and program timelines. She said the state has mechanisms to designate extremely high-cost locations and to consider alternative technologies (fixed wireless or satellite) where fiber is infeasible. She encouraged members to submit follow-up questions and requested continued legislative cooperation on permitting and financing issues.
Committee follow-up: Members asked about uncommitted ARPA balances, encumbrance rules and whether ARPA capital funds are subject to end-of-year obligation deadlines; Workman said the $136 million capital projects allocation is not subject to the December 2024 obligation requirement that applies to some other ARPA funding streams and estimated roughly $19 million remains across discussed funding sources for potential allocation.
