Through the Community Connect Grant, Micrologic has recently constructed and activated two microwave towers in the Rock Cave area of Upshur County. Since 2018, eighteen towers have been activated and five more are expected to be constructed and activated in Upshur, Barbour and Randolph Counties by the end of December 2021, completing the entire project.
In November of 2017, the Central West Virginia Development Association was granted $3 million by USDA Rural Development for a project called ‘The Community Connect Grant.’ The goal of this grant is to bring broadband to rural, underserved parts of Upshur, Randolph, and Barbour counties.
Micrologic was contracted to upgrade three existing microwave towers and build 26 new towers across the three counties to deploy fixed wireless broadband to over 3,500 households and businesses. These towers will provide broadband access to nearly 9,000 West Virginia residents and employers.
The Micrologic crew has already completed towers that service portions of Upshur County’s Hemlock, Selbyville, Democrat Ridge, Rock Cave, Washington School District, Abbott, and Audra State Park areas and Randolph County’s Valley Bend, Beverly, and Mabie areas.
Towers that still need to be completed or activated will service portions of Upshur County’s Frenchton, French Creek, and Audra areas as well as Barbour County’s Talbott and Carrollton areas.
The need for these towers and broadband became very evident after the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council ranked West Virginia as 48th of the 50 states in access to broadband. The state is severely underserved, and it is imperative that upgrades are made if West Virginia wants to compete with the rest of the world. Those located within the proposed funded service area will receive free installation from Micrologic.
For more information or to check your availability, visit www.micrologicwv.com.
