MORGANTOWN — The Monongalia County Commission on Monday approved a pair of contracts with Comcast that will put some 20 miles of fiber network in place and make broadband available to more than 120 homes and businesses.
The work had to be separated into two agreements due to funding sources.
The larger of the two will help connect customers in two completely separate parts of the county – the Stewart’s Run and Gandalf Road (Snake Hill) areas. That work will utilize $944,593 of the county’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act money, plus an additional $542,785 from Comcast for a total cost of $1,487,378.
The second, which will connect unserved areas off River Road, will be funded using $175,377 out of the county’s general fund.
In June, the county and Comcast announced a $17.8 million public/private partnership that will connect 2,175 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in areas all over the county over the next two years. The design phase for that work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The commission is slated to announce another award next week that will potentially bring broadband access to hundreds of additional addresses.
The major announcement from June and these two smaller projects to end the year are the culmination of more than three years of work that began in May 2021, when the commission hired Ohio-based Ice Miller to put together a comprehensive countywide broadband plan.
“I want to specifically thank [Commission President] Sean Skora, because when we started this project several years ago, it was a concept. We had no idea, really, where we were going or what we were going to do,” Commissioner Tom Bloom said. “In a matter of a year-plus, we now have started on a major project and we’re doing several more projects … I really want to give President Sikora accolades because he’s the one who’s been directing this and having the meetings. We’re way ahead of the rest of the state in this area.”
Sikora said that as he drove the county as part of this process he was continually surprised to see just how cut off so many areas of the county remain.
“With these two contracts, three projects, and the one that will be announced next week, we will essentially have covered, or at least touched, every area of the county. Again, we can’t cover it all,” Sikora said. “The way the grant process has evolved, it’s kind of pushed municipalities and counties out of the way as far as being grant recipients, but we will obligate these remaining ARPA dollars and we’ll at least start infrastructure in these areas.”
Ricky Frazier Jr., senior vice president of Comcast’s Keystone Region, said the company is excited to expand its partnership with Monongalia County.
“Comcast is pleased to partner with Monongalia County to connect more unserved residents and businesses to our Xfinity and Comcast business services,” Frazier said. “Our state-of-the-art network helps people stay connected to the moments that matter most and our commitment to the communities we serve goes beyond building the best network. We also work to advance digital equity through Internet Essentials, our low-cost Internet service for low-income families and Project UP, our $1 billion commitment to unlimited possibilities.”
