West Virginia's BEAD Final Proposal
West Virginia was allocated $1.2 billion through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Over the past three years, the state worked diligently to create a process that would bring high-quality internet service to every un- and underserved household. This work culminated in West Virginia’s Final Proposal for the BEAD Program.
West Virginia was deliberate in its BEAD planning efforts. Broad engagement with stakeholders and a wide range of communities, both communities of interest and communities representing the full geographic coverage of West Virginia, provided the state with the information necessary to create a process for selecting Internet Service Providers (ISP) that would meet the needs of prospective applicants and support successful projects. Stakeholders provided the the West Virginia Department of Economic Development (WVDED) with the information necessary to develop proactive outreach plans, describe the application materials and process well to support prospective applicants, and ensure the timelines allowed all interested applicants to prepare detailed projects. Engagement with broadband industry stakeholders and community anchor institutions informed decisions on proposed non-deployment programs and confirmed those plans align with West Virginia's connectivity goals.
Every component of West Virginia's BEAD Program was designed to ensure a fair, open, and competitive process. WVDED permitted all eligible participants to participate in West Virginia's BEAD program. All applicants were given the same amount of time to apply. West Virginia provided financial incentives for providers to participate in the BEAD program, including creating the Broadband Loan Insurance (BLINS) Program, which assists businesses gain access to credit from West Virginia financial institutions and is administered by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WV EDA). It aims to encourage lenders to undertake credit risk that will allow for the extension or expansion of broadband service in West Virginia.
WVDED did not restrict any entities, including non-traditional providers, from participation. Fourteen ISPs submitted pre-applications, ranging from small providers to regional and national ones and included entities that used a variety of technologies, from fiber to terrestrial wireless, as well as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite.
Application Process
WVDED designed and executed a streamlined process through which interested entities could apply to the program.
- Pre-Applications: Entities interested in applying to the program began by submitting pre-applications. These forms included general information about business practices, qualifications to deploy and operate broadband networks, and capacity to take on deployment projects.
- Applications: Applicants submitted specific applications that focused on each of their proposed projects for deploying broadband to currently unserved and underserved locations in the state. WVDED accepted applications twice: once during the originally scheduled process and another time during an extension phase.
- Assessment and Ranking: WVDED assessed the proposed projects according to a transparent set of criteria published prior to the start of the application process. These combinations were ranked according to their scores, which prioritized maximizing use of available funds.
- Negotiations and Selection: West Virginia then assessed what scenarios would maximize favorable outcomes for the state. In certain cases, WVDED engaged in negotiations to improve the options available for award. These voluntary negotiations involved applicants and, in some places with very few applicants, it also involved companies with a presence in the local area who had not applied.
Application Prioritization and Scoring
Project scoring and prioritization followed a framework mandated by NTIA, with cost as a key element, but was tailored to meet the specific needs and desires of residents in West Virginia. For example, West Virginia offered additional points to applicants that committed to deploying their networks faster than the federally-mandated, four-year timeframe, or who had demonstrated community impact and support, or could show proposed networks that could better stand the test of time through extra investment in resiliency or scalability to meet future needs. West Virginia also encouraged applicants to build more scalable and resilient networks.
WVDED evaluated applications on a 200-point scale.
Minimal BEAD Program Outlay (100 points)
WVDED determined that the difference between zero and deployment estimates for all of the target locations contained within a Proposed Project equals the expected total BEAD Program outlay. The minimum expected total BEAD outlay was considered to be $0. WVDED then divided the total BEAD funding that the applicant requested by this calculated expected total BEAD outlay to establish a percentage figure. WVDED then assigned points for this category as follows:
- Projects falling below 50% of the expected BEAD outlay were rounded to 50%.
- Projects falling above 150% of the expected BEAD outlay were rounded to 150%.
- For every percentage point less than 150%, one point was awarded, up to and including 5O%.
If the expected total BEAD outlay for the proposed project was $0, WVDED awarded the full 100 points to applicants that requested $0 of BEAD funding for the project and zero points to applicants that requested any amount of BEAD funding for the project.
Affordability (25 Points)
Applicants seeking points from this criterion were required to submit the prices for service that they planned to offer all residential target locations in their target areas. Affordability was evaluated using the price of 1/1 Gbps service for fiber projects and 100/20 Mbps service for projects using other technologies.
- Fiber Project Scoring: One point for every $2 below $115 per month for plans offering 1/1 Gbps or better (max 25 points)
- Non-FiberProject Scoring: One point for every $2 below $85 per month for plans offering 100/20 Mbps or better (max 25 points)
Compliance with Fair Labor Practices (25 Points)
Applicants would be awarded 25 points for demonstrating a track record of and plans for future compliance with fair labor practices. Applicants without a demonstrated track record of fair labor practices compliance were awarded up to the full 25 points based on WVDED's determination of the strength of their fair labor practices compliance plan.
Speed to Deployment (10 Points)
To qualify for any points in this section, applicants were required to commit to providing WVDED its final network design(s) within six months of award. Projects could earn points according to the following schedule: 10 points for deployment in less than or equal to 18 months, 7 points for less than or equal to 24 months, and 5 points for less than or equal to 36 months.
Demonstrated Community Impact and Support (20 Points)
WVDED prioritized projects with demonstrated community impact and/or support.
Resiliency and Scalability (20 Points)
Fiber projects demonstrating resiliency and scalability could receive up to 20 points based on the following:
- Technology (maximum of 5 points),
- Network Topology (maximum of 5 points),
- Outside of Plant (OSP) Design (maximum of 5 points), and
- Capacity Design (maximum of 5 points).
Speed of Network
WVDED awarded 5 points to projects with a demonstrated useful life for major components greater than 8 years. WVDED additionally awarded 5 points to projects expected to be scalable to speeds of 500/20 but less than 1 Gbps/ 35 Mbps, and it awarded an additional 10 points to projects expected to be scalable to speeds of at least 1 Gbps/ 35 Mbps.
Compliance
West Virginia has and will comply with federal requirements when carrying out its BEAD program. At the same time, the state has firmly committed itself to keeping it and its subgrantees accountable through monitoring, transparency mechanisms, and regularly sharing updates publicly.
Much of West Virginia's efforts have been informed by coordination with relevant stakeholders. WVDED has worked with and/or sought feedback from residents, private sector, nonprofit, and governmental entities. This coordination has met five criteria established by NTIA:
- Full geographic coverage of West Virginia.
- Meaningful engagement and outreach to a wide range of residents, as well as private, nonprofit, and public entities.
- Utilization of multiple awareness and participation mechanisms and different methods to convey information.
- Establishment, documentation of, and adherence to clear procedures to ensure transparency.
- Outreach and engagement of communities across the state.
WVDED will distribute funding on a reimbursement basis and implement timely subgrant monitoring mandates.
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