Local Officials in West Va. Want Fiber, not Satellite, from BEAD

April 25, 2025 – Local officials in West Virginia are sending a message about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: They want money to deploy fiber and do not want to settle for satellite Internet service like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

In an April 18 letter to West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, R, all three members of the Grant County Commission said fiber better aligned with the county’s unique geography, socioeconomic needs, and long-term development goals.

“It is evident that fiber-to-the-home provides a more sustainable, equitable and high-performance option for our community,” Commission President Kevin Hagerty said, along with Commissioners Scotty Miley and Tyson Riggleman.

The commission cited the superior reliability and performance of fiber-to-the-home technology and noted that these qualities made fiber a better long-term investment for the county. They also pointed to the state’s goals of promoting local economic development and attracting data centers, which require fiber connections, as reasoning behind building out fiber over satellite services.

Equitable access and network resilience were further concerns of the commission. Higher costs, data caps, poor support and variable speeds could hamper the ability of low-income or underserved residents to connect to the internet, while the complex geography of the county could create logistical difficulties for consistent satellite deployment.

“Fiber is a more affordable solution for the Grant County residents, and with better technical support from our local Internet service providers. From our experience, you cannot talk to technical support when asking for help from Starlink,” the commission said.

The commission also noted Grant County’s proximity to the National Radio Quiet Zone, raising concerns that increased satellite-based connectivity solutions could disrupt the zone’s operations. 

Starlink received permission to begin operating in portions of the 13,000 square mile NRQZ on October 25, 2024, following a three-year effort to bring residential satellite connectivity to the area’s 8,000 residents. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced in March that he plans to move away from the fiber preference outlined in the $42.45 billion BEAD program under the Biden administration to take a more technology-neutral approach to closing the digital divide.

The technology-neutral approach has been the subject of bipartisan controversy as lawmakers expressed concerns about delays or disruptions caused by the shift away from the fiber preference.

West Virginia was given an extra 90 days to complete its BEAD spending plan as part of a blanket extension by the Commerce Department to ensure that all states and territories are aligned with the Trump administration’s priorities. West Virginia had already completed its plan by the time the extension was implemented.