$300 a month is what Monroe County therapist Krissy Kearns pays for Frontier and Starlink to keep telehealth sessions running, yet dropped connections still interrupt care for high-risk patients.
11% of West Virginia households lack broadband subscriptions, with officials citing mountainous terrain, aging infrastructure and utility disputes that have left Monroe County among the state's hardest places to connect.
Hundreds of millions of federal dollars and state matching funds are backing projects expected to connect thousands of Monroe County homes and businesses, but officials say maps and announcements still miss residents' on-the-ground experience.
$170 monthly satellite bills are straining some households on fixed incomes, and lawmakers this year advanced no customer-protection measures after proposals for bill credits and fines of up to $7,000 stalled.
Residents say the gaps reach beyond streaming, shaping whether they can work remotely, run businesses, get healthcare and reach emergency services while they wait for promised buildouts.