KINGWOOD — More than $10 million in gigabit speed fiber internet is coming to Preston County, thanks to a pair of state grants and the required matching funds from the Preston County Commission.
“We’re here today to tell you that the grants were funded by the state,” said Roberta Baylor, executive director for the Preston County Economic Development Authority during Tuesday’s commission meeting. “We’re getting a pretty good return on that money, it looks like we’re going to be able to provide service to 1,600 to 1,700 targeted addresses.”
A targeted address is one that is un-served or un-served internet access, Tim Wotring, president of Prodigi, the Preston County ISP that was awarded the Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) grants, explained at a November meeting.
Wotring said he’s hopeful to sign the grant documents by the end of February or the first week of March and start getting fiber out there. All LEAD projects must be completed within 12 months.
It’s a step toward his mission to make sure all of Preston has fiber internet.
“Our goal is to have the county completely fibered within two to three years,” Wotring said. RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) has to be done within five years. But we want to push that up to try to get aggressive and be covered within two to three years and then Preston County will be a gig county. The only one to my knowledge.”
Commission President Samantha Stone said she was glad that’s still the goal.
“One thing we’ve learned through COVID and all of you know, this advancement, is that we rely on the broadband infrastructure now just as much as we do other critical services,” Stone said, adding she appreciated the effort made.
Commissioner Dave Price said he could see companies or individuals moving to Preston County to watch the deer while they work at their computers.
Wotring said they saw a small preview of that in Alpine Lake.
“Alpine Lake blew up after we got fiber over there,” Commissioner Don Smith said. “It took off.”
Wotring thinks that will happen throughout the county.
The West Preston Network Extension project was awarded $4,592,645 according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. The matching funds of $810,500 should bring 92.7 miles of fiber to 1,203 addresses in Albright, Kingwood and Reedsville.
The Northcentral Preston Network Extension was given $3,840,913. With matching funds from the county of $803,500 an estimated 1,455 address will be served with an estimated 60 miles of fiber around Arthurdale, Reedsville, Bretz, and Masontown.
A USDA Community Connect grant which would have helped access in the Aurora area was denied since Wotring last spoke with the commission, he said. However, that might be a blessing in disguise because the budget for that grant was drafted more than two years ago before prices drastically changed.
Wotring said everything from Cranesville to Aurora and Kingwood Pike is included in a third LEAD application.
“I don’t anticipate knowing the results of that until mid-March at best,” Wotring said. “We’re hopeful and optimistic that we’ll win that one as well.”
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