3940MM861

Purpose:
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), through its operating company Appalachian Power Company, Inc. (APCO), is a provider of electricity distribution services in West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee, serving more than one million customers.

The Southeast West Virginia Middle Mile Connect Project will enable last mile Internet service providers (ISPs) to address the broadband needs of Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer, and Summers counties in West Virginia. The project encompasses the five counties listed above whose population is currently 11% underserved based on FCC data. The lack of broadband severely limits access to internet services, including those related to energy efficiency, healthcare, training and education, as well as the opportunity for general economic development in small towns across this region. The unserved and underserved communities in the target areas addressed by the project lack the essential information services present in more prominent locations.

APCO will offer middle mile broadband to all qualified ISPs within its network service area, which will reduce barriers to entry for ISPs, encourage competition, improve service levels, and lower costs for end-users. Enabling ISPs to connect to the proposed middle mile network will help rural communities to access these services, thereby promoting several key national, state, and local objectives. Access to grant funding will enable the network to increase affordability by providing numerous access terminals throughout the project to ensure that last mile providers can affordably penetrate the most impacted communities at lower costs that will then flow through to end-users.

Activities to be performed:
The project will use fiber to build a new middle mile network through unserved communities with a commitment to open access and carrier-neutral non-discriminatory interconnect. The period of performance is expected to be 4 years.

Expected outcomes:
The proposed project has the following goals and deliverables:

1. Construction of 579 miles fiber routes and use of 127 miles of fiber in Appalachian Power Company's (APCO) existing network.
2. Provide efficient and cost-effective access at interconnection points to Internet service providers (ISPs), enabling reliable and affordable broadband access to approximately 113,000 residents.
3. Facilitate the provision of broadband service at speeds not less than 1 Gbps symmetrical service for anchor institutions within 1,000 feet of the proposed project.
4. This project is projected to impact 2,955 unserved households and 20,676 underserved households, and these numbers are likely understated per third-party data.

Intended beneficiaries:
The Southeast West Virginia Middle Mile Connect Project will provide an affordable, lasting, high-speed broadband solution to thousands of underserved residents, spanning five counties across southern West Virginia, which have significant disparities in access to high-speed broadband compared to the rest of the country. The proposed project will combine middle mile infrastructure with last mile partnerships to resolve the digital gap separating rural America from the greater nation. Per the 2020 Census, the project counties' average median household income in this area remains 64.4% below the current national average. Based on economic analyses, in conservative estimates, increased broadband connectivity would result in an economic uplift, an unemployment rate reduction, and create 180 new jobs annually. Under more aspirational assumptions that will simulate broadband's capacity to reduce unemployment substantially, increased high-speed accessibility will create 359 new jobs yearly.

Subrecipient activities:
The applicant does not intend to subaward funds.

Appalachian Power Company

TO EXPAND AND EXTEND MIDDLE MILE INFRASTRUCTURE TO REDUCE THE COST OF CONNECTING AREAS THAT ARE UNSERVED OR UNDERSERVED TO THE INTERNET BACKBONE.

11.033 - Middle Mile (Broadband) Grant Program

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [DOC]

Columbus, Ohio 43215-2355 United States

Single Zip Code

Middle Mile Grant Program (NTIA-MMG-2022)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 06/30/27 to 06/24/24 and the total obligations have decreased 100% from $50,208,602 to $0.