Dec 17, 2021 4 min read

The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed a bill this week that expands broadband access throughout the commonwealth.

When Gov. Tom Wolf signs the bill – cosponsored by state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson – into law, it will mark the creation of Pennsylvania’s first-ever broadband committee.

“I am so excited and proud to say this bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly without a single negative vote,” Snyder said in a news release Wednesday. “For too long, we have talked about the need for broadband without action. That inaction ended this week.”

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a need for broadband access nationwide. Remote learning and working was made more challenging to those in areas with spotty or no internet, a fact of life for many throughout Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.

“We’re not talking about internet just to have cable. We’re talking about kids in Zoom – they couldn’t see their teacher, they couldn’t do their assignments,” said John Timney, executive director of the Washington County Authority, who is spearheading the county’s Rural Broadband Initiative. “Broadband and internet and Wi-Fi are becoming a utility. They are becoming as important … as water, sewage, electricity and gas. We all recognize that. We just haven’t had the opportunity to serve these rural areas.”

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority will use its budget of at least $100 million budget – funded through federal aid and the Jobs Act – to construct new towers and lines, bringing broadband to underserved and rural populations across the state.

“This is a positive for the future, as far as implementing avenues to get more funding down to the counties,” said Greene County commissioner Chairman Mike Belding. “I hope they figure out how to fairly get it out to the counties that are less represented by population. That has not happened, to be quite honest. One of our hopes is it becomes more equitable for rural counties.”

There is no county in Pennsylvania where at least half the population has access to the internet at the minimum speeds set by the Federal Communications Commission, according to a 2019 study by Penn State University.

And a study published last year by Reimagine Appalachia reported a majority of Pennsylvania counties have a median download speed of less than 30 megabits per second; the FCC recommends download speeds of 100 megabits.

Belding said too often, funding is distributed to more densely populated areas across the state, like Allegheny and Philadelphia. That leaves rural counties, which require more money to construct broadband infrastructure, to fend for themselves.

“The concern is if you do things by population, it’s not fair to the rural counties, particularly if they’re falling behind or have been behind. Regionally, people are looking at artificial intelligent and robotics. Greene County is still trying to get clean drinking water,” Belding said. “It’s not a complaint; it’s just a fact.”

Timney, too, acknowledges that government funding, like the American Recovery and CARES acts, isn’t evenly distributed amongst counties nationwide. He’s not sure what to expect from this new broadband legislation.

“I don’t know how that money is going to get to us,” he said.

Greene County took expanding internet access into its own hands nearly a decade ago when Snyder was elected. The county applied for and received numerous grants and partnered with broadband providers to make internet access a reality.

Since then, Washington and Fayette counties have followed suit, and all three counties are working to expand internet access to their residents. Timney is leading the charge in Washington County, and views recent legislation as a win for broadband expansion.

“To show me a group of representatives that is unanimous – the way I see it is a vote of confidence,” he said. “Broadband … it’s that important.”

Belding agrees that the passage of this legislation is a major step in the right direction of internet for all, starting with rural areas.

“This looks like an opportunity to catch up or be even with some of our more developed neighbors,” said Belding.