CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Department of Economic Development’s Office of Broadband is preparing to begin the West Virginia Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) Challenge Process this weekend.

Registration opened on Jan. 29. The challenge phase will be open for 30 days, beginning on Saturday and closing on Mar. 10.

The process allows stakeholders in West Virginia to dispute the level of internet service reported on the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map available at any given location within the state.

West Virginia has been awarded $1.2 billion in federal funding to provide high-speed internet access to its residents. There are currently 168,000 unserved and underserved locations across the state.

Under federal BEAD Program rules, only units of local government, nonprofit organizations and broadband service providers are eligible to submit challenges during the BEAD Challenge Process. Challengers must submit evidence that demonstrates the current information about the specific location that needs to be corrected.

Andrew Joseph with the state broadband office told the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council Thursday they’re gathering materials before Saturday’s launch.

“Just getting all those materials in line, making sure that not only will the applicants provide all the information WVED itself needs, but making sure that WVED and the applicants are going to comply with all the requirements from the federal government,” he said.

Joseph said stakeholders can expect an educational webinar and other sources.

“There will first be a webinar which will provide a general overview of what the process looks like, really get people thinking about how they fit into it, what questions they may have and how it will look going forward. The actual portal will open shortly thereafter in March and then there will be workshops,” he told the council.

Following completion of the Challenge Process, the final updated map will be used to allocate BEAD funding across the state.