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About 50,000 more homes and businesses will have access to high-speed internet in Pennsylvania over the next two years – with the first of the projects completed this spring.
It’s the result of a national push for expanded broadband, or high-speed internet, in areas where homes and businesses don’t have access or can’t connect to high-speed service. That access is essential today, said Kyle Kopko, executive director for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
“It has been a gateway for learning, telehealth, doing commerce, doing own personal research, also quality of life for entertainment purposes,” he said. “It really permeates virtually all aspects of daily life.”
The projects are funded by the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, which aims to connect every Pennsylvanian to high-speed, affordable internet by 2030. The Authority defines affordable internet as costing no more than $54 a month.
The state Broadband Authority relies on federal funding from sources such as the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program — an initiative funded by former President Joe Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. None of its funding comes from the state.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order ordering a pause on disbursement of funds from the Act, a move that has prompted a legal challenge.
So far, funding for broadband in Pennsylvania seems to be unaffected.
American Rescue Act funds are already under contract and BEAD funds are still in place, said Kopko, who is also a Broadband Authority board member.
The state received almost $1.2 billion in federal funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to invest in projects in underserved and unserved areas. Last year, the state Broadband Authority also approved the use of $204 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for those 50,000 homes and businesses that will receive high-speed internet over the next two years.
Currently, about 95% of nearly 5 million locations in the state have access to speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, the Federal Communications Commission’s standard for broadband speed.
Around 255,000 locations still lack access to high-speed internet, and nearly 95,000 of those are in areas with projects already underway, said Justin Backover, press secretary for the Department of Community & Economic Development.
In Southwestern Pennsylvania there are projects in Butler, Indiana, Washington, Westmoreland, and Beaver counties. A map of areas awarded funding is available on the Broadband Authority website. The Authority has approved 53 infrastructure projects so far.
There are often more gaps in high-speed internet access in rural areas than urban areas, Kopko said. The reasons are varied: topography can make building infrastructure like fiber optic cables difficult and costly, and it may be hard for people to afford the service even if infrastructure exists.
Lack of broadband access can affect businesses that rely on the internet, making it more difficult to compete with others that have better connections.
While the state has invested millions in the expansion effort, broadband expansion has been happening at the local level as well.
Broadband access has been a high priority for Indiana County’s commissioners for more than a decade, said Byron Stauffer, executive director of Indiana County Office of Planning & Development.
Since the pandemic, Indiana has invested around $9 million into expanding access. The funding came from grants, the county, and federal COVID-19 relief money.
A contract with REA Energy Cooperative and its subsidiary In the Stix will build about 130 miles of fiber optic infrastructure, reaching around 1,700 homes and 150 businesses along the route. Construction should be completed within two to three months, Stauffer said.
Some areas of Indiana will also be covered by the state Broadband Authority projects with Comcast and Verizon.
Beaver County is one of the first to celebrate near-full connectivity, said Dan Distler, director of the county’s Office of Planning and Redevelopment.
The Beaver County Planning Commission approved the use of up to $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to bring high-speed internet to areas without access to service.
The Broadband Authority awarded funds to Comcast to expand broadband to almost 650 locations in Beaver County. Verizon will also be deploying broadband service to more than 1,800 locations by the end of 2026 as a part of the Connect Beaver County Broadband Program.
“After the completion of scheduled work, Beaver County will be as close to 100% connectivity as can reasonably be achieved, respecting that some households may choose not to subscribe to the available service providers and new construction could present new demand,” Distler said.
