Mar 20, 2018 4 min read

Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled a new office to oversee increasing access to high-speed internet Monday, along with up to $35 million in financial incentives for private companies to expand broadband access in underserved areas.

The funds, according to state Rep. Pam Synder, will augment nearly $2 billion in federal dollars being made available to providers.

It’s an effort officials hope will help to bring broadband access to 800,000 Pennsylvanians who lack it. Snyder worked alongside state Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, and both were at the governor’s Monday announcement.

“This is not a partisan issue. This is about meeting people’s needs,” Snyder said Tuesday. “This is so much larger than we realize, to have access to high-speed broadband.”

Greene County, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report, is one of 34 counties across the state that has less broadband internet access than the national average. That report noted that one in 10 Americans, or about 23 million people, do not have high-speed internet access, whereas 12 percent of Greene County residents lack access.

Snyder said some of the $35 million will come from the state Department of Transportation because they would benefit from better internet access.

“(PennDOT) needs their broadband infrastructure for their transportation network,” she said.

Snyder, D-Jefferson, said the governor’s plan to expand access by 2022 is an aggressive agenda, one she hopes to help meet.

“I want to ensure every Pennsylvania household and business has access to modern day high-speed internet,” Wolf said in a release. “Equal access to the internet, regardless of location or income, must be provided if Pennsylvania is to remain competitive, if we want to offer every child the best education, if we want to live in a state where we all can access modern day healthcare options, if we want a state where our farms and other businesses thrive, and the jobs of tomorrow are created.”

The new office, the Pennsylvania Office of Broadband Initiatives, aims to develop and enact a plan to expand high-speed internet access by 2022. Mark Smith, a former Bradford County commissioner who has served the Wolf administration as a deputy chief of staff, will serve as executive director of the office. The Pennsylvania Broadband Investment Incentive Program will provide funds to private companies in the FCC’s upcoming Connect America Fund auction.

Companies covering Greene County have $2.2 million earmarked for development through federal Connect America Fund Phase II money for fiber upgrades. Windstream Communications has the largest portion of that share for 4,354 locations, concentrated mostly in the central and western parts of the county. Fairpoint Communications, Frontier Communications and Verizon are also set to receive funds. The money is focused on broadband access.

Though that money should be used in this county to help improve internet infrastructure, it still can be spent anywhere else in the state and possibly other areas of the country. Last year, Snyder requested, in a joint petition with the Public Utility Commission and Department of Community and Economic Development, that the FCC keep federal Connect America funding earmarked for Pennsylvania in the state.

In 2018, the internet is no longer a luxury, but infrastructure that is every bit as important as other public services, Snyder said. It feels good, she added, to see an issue she has been passionate about at the forefront of the conversation, with other lawmakers also realizing that reliable internet is a necessity.

It’s necessary for students to complete their assignments. Access to the internet, Snyder said, is becoming increasingly essential for agriculture. It’s also important for people to have access to telemedicine. Small and large businesses alike need internet access. Companies will not come to an area without reliable internet. Broadband expansion, Snyder said, could make the difference in attracting jobs to Greene County.

Snyder and Phillips-Hill also announced Monday a push for legislation that would allow state assets like communication poles and buildings to be used to expand internet access. She said the hope is for that legislation to run through committee when state legislators return in April, in hopes of a vote soon after. Snyder also sent a letter to the FCC in Febuary, as well as met with Microsoft, in an effort to finalize rules that would dedicate white space television channels to instead provide broadband internet access.