By Stephen Smoot
In the first week of February, Governor Jim Justice announced preliminary approval for 10 grant awards across the state to companies engaged in broadband expansion. One third of the grants handed out, totaling approximately $1.3 million, went to Spruce Knob Seneca Rocks Telephone in Riverton.
The grants come from the Line Extension Advancement and Development program, part of the West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan. As Jena Miller, executive director of the non-profit SKSRT explains, the “purpose is to improve access and work towards ensuring every West Virginian has access to reliable broadband service.”
The three grants each will fund expansion in a different section of the county. A Brandywine based project will use a $401,025 grant with $120,000 in local matching funds to bring high speed internet to 119 addresses with five miles of fiber.
Another project will extend service in Upper Tract. This one will use approximately $900,000 in state funds with a local match of $105,700. Sixteen miles of fiber will reach 122 addresses.
The third will apply $611,315 from the state and $82,000 from Pocahontas County to connect 117 addresses in the Green Bank area with nine miles of fiber.
SKSRT, along with Armstrong Communications Inc, Citynet LLC, and Comcast, were the only companies to receive grants in this, the third round of funding. Expansion funded in this round will take place not only in Pendleton and Pocahontas, but also Mineral, Marshall, Wetzel, Cabell, and Wayne counties.
Miller added, “We look forward to expanding our services and facilitating new locations. If an individual questions whether they are within the grants SKSRT has been awarded, they will need to call in and provide a formal inquiry of service for their location.”
She also shared that “we will also have SKSRT employees going to areas within the projects and leaving information about our services as the timeline develops.”
Justice said in a release that “these grants represent not just an investment in infrastructure, but in the future of our communities and the prosperity of our residents.”
High praise was offered by Miller for the work of local leaders whose efforts laid the groundwork for this and other successes.
“Through the LEAD projects that SKSRT has been awarded, we would like to recognize and thank Mr. Rick Gillespie, Ms. Laura Brown, and the Pendleton County Commission for their input and contribution. It has been greatly appreciated!” she said.
