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Facebook to Help Expand Internet in West Virginia
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Facebook says it’s going to help expand broadband internet in West Virginia.
The social media company announced a plan Monday to build a high-capacity fiber optic cable network in the state that telecommunication companies will be able to access.
Work on the roughly 275-mile cable route is scheduled to start this year and is expected to take about 18 to 24 months to finish.
The plan is for the cable to start in the western part of the state, move through the Kanawha Valley then turn northwest into the Appalachia region.
West Virginia officials are cheering the deal as a way to move the state’s economy forward.
The Federal Communications Commission says 82 percent of West Virginians have access to fixed broadband internet speeds.