West Virginia could have up to $40 million in unspent broadband stimulus funds

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A federal stimulus project to expand high-speed Internet in West Virginia could wind up with $30 million to $40 million in unspent grant funds.

After receiving a $126 million federal stimulus grant last year, the state announced plans to lay more than 2,400 miles of fiber optic cable across West Virginia. Now, state officials are talking about installing about 900 miles of fiber, and the project could be scaled back even more. Also, state officials initially promised to use the grant money to bring high-speed broadband to 1,064 "community anchor institutions" -- schools, libraries, health care facilities, public agencies and fire stations. However, more than 300 of those public facilities, the state has since discovered, already had high-speed fiber connections. "There's a ton of money leftover," said Citynet President Jim Martin, a vocal critic of how the state is spending the stimulus funds. "It's money unaccounted for."


West Virginia could have up to $40 million in unspent broadband stimulus funds