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Greene, Washington officials discuss new federal broadband expansion program

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Local government and nonprofit officials met Thursday to discuss how to utilize new federal infrastructure money coming to Pennsylvania in an effort to create “digital equity” by bridging the broadband gap for places without high-speed internet.

The 90-minute session held at the Blueprints nonprofit office in Washington and organized by Michael Baker International was designed to listen to regional stakeholders about internet problems in their communities and to explain how the newly launched federal Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program will work.

“Simply put, digital equity means having equal access to internet opportunities,” Blueprints Director Jessica Hajek-Bates told the attendees to open the meeting. “The digital divide … is a social justice matter.”

President Biden announced Monday the delivery of $42.5 billion in federal money through the BEAD program to states across the country, with Pennsylvania set to receive about $1.16 billion in aid to extend broadband in unserved and underserved areas.

More than 30 people from across Washington and Greene counties attended Thursday’s meeting to offer ideas and tell their stories about the difficulties people are facing trying to access the internet. Elizabeth Crow, a public engagement specialist with Michael Baker, said they plan to hold 20 such “listening sessions” across the state to get feedback on how best to use the state’s allotment of the BEAD money so counties can apply for grants.

She started the session by comparing internet speeds to animals, with the cheetah being the fastest and “a dead turtle” coming in last.

“It just doesn’t get any slower than that,” Crow said, bringing a laugh from the group.

But she noted that the Federal Communications Commission defines an “underserved” customer as having less than 100 megabits per second download speed, while someone who has less than 25 mbps is “unserved.” That leaves about 19 million Americans without access to high-speed internet, according to the FCC, although that figure could actually be much higher.

“If you’re not getting those speeds, it’s like you’re not getting the internet from the FCC’s point of view,” Crow said. “Having the internet, it once was a luxury, but not anymore.”

Officials in Washington and Greene counties have launched a robust effort to deliver broadband to rural areas over the past year-and-a-half, but there are still many pockets without high-speed internet, which will be especially costly for telecommunication companies to install fiber-optic lines to make the connection.

Brandon Carson, who is executive director of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, said the use of federal American Rescue Plan Act stimulus money has been a boon for many communities, but the BEAD program and other funding streams will keep the momentum of this “historic investment” going.

“It’s about building that infrastructure to offer (high-speed internet),” Carson told the group.

But even if residents have access to high-speed internet, the cost of the service can still keep it out of reach for low-income families or seniors living on a fixed income. Crow explained the Affordable Connectivity Program offers a $30 subsidy on monthly internet bills for people who qualify. However, some in the group openly pondered whether there should be programs to make high-speed internet free for seniors who may be leery of paying for a service they don’t quite know if they want or need.

“Why would you want to pay for something that is going to frustrate you?” Greene County Commissioner Betsy Rohanna-McClure asked rhetorically.

“And then (the cost) to buy the computer,” Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman added.

But the two Greene commissioners in attendance also raised concerns about how their successful projects over the past year could affect future funding opportunities. Carson said the BEAD money is specifically designed to go to unserved and underserved areas, so Greene County should still have a viable shot at receiving grants for more projects.

Meanwhile, Washington County Authority Director John Timney said they will continue pushing hard to extend broadband to more communities after rapidly moving through multiple phases in numerous rural communities since early 2022, with more projects still to come.

“We plan on being very aggressive going after that (BEAD) money,” Timney said. “And we’re not going to be shy just because we were successful with the (ARPA) money.”

Thursday’s meeting was the sixth of 20 listening sessions that will be held across the state in June and July.

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