- Citynet invests in rural broadband and expands its fiber network across West Virginia.
- The telecom industry must handle high costs, regulation shifts and competition while innovating.
Citynet invests with public support
Citynet is a fully West Virginia owned provider. It leads in fibre communications, voice, data, managed IT, cybersecurity, unified communications and cloud services. It works in Bridgeport, Clarksburg, Fairmont, Morgantown and Philippi, and via offices in Charleston and Morgantown plus operations into Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It offers symmetrical gigabit speed internet up to 10 Gbps, low latency, dedicated bandwidth and dark fiber.
Citynet announced a $24.87 million grant and loan package via the USDA ReConnect programme in January 2025. That investment will bring gig-fiber to 6,110 residents, 129 businesses, 118 farms and eight schools in Nicholas County. The scheme aims to close the digital divide in rural areas, enable telemedicine, e-learning, remote work and e-commerce.
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Citynet grows tech services amid challenges
Citynet also offers top IT services. Its team is skilled and certified. It serves many clients with managed IT, cloud, cybersecurity, data backup, unified communications and remote worker solutions. It delivers these from in-state support centres, not from overseas call centres.
The telecom industry faces high costs to lay fibre, rising pressure to reach underserved users, complex regulation and big rivals. Many rural regions are under-served due to cost and low return. Regulatory bodies are shifting focus on pricing, DEI and media, making it harder for small firms to comply. State attorneys general are stepping in on robocalls, billing and privacy while FCC enforcement softens.
Industry innovation includes fibre, fixed wireless, satellite and city-owned networks. Those efforts aim to break the hold of big incumbents on the local loop and spur investment and access.
Citynet faces these pressures. It also overcame past disputes, such as settling litigation over BTOP broadband funding with Frontier for $17.75 million in 2023. It has grown by acquisition too – it bought StratusWave in Wheeling in 2017 to expand services and reach.
Citynet works with tech partners like Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, Dell and others. These alliances help it deliver secure, reliable services . It was the first to power a “Gigabit City” in Bridgeport and Snowshoe Mountain Resort, and to bring gigabit speeds to Philippi. It also joined VETRO’s global fiber map network in 2021 to manage infrastructure and support roll-out.
