Pa. Makes Broadband Plan, Preps for IIJA Funding
Pennsylvania is seeking “equitable, affordable, and robust high-speed broadband infrastructure and services connecting Pennsylvania for the 21st century and beyond,” said a state broadband plan adopted Thursday. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority board approved the plan in a unanimous voice vote at a partially virtual meeting Thursday. Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson said the shot clock is now running to develop the plans required by NTIA to get Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federal funding.
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The state broadband plan will guide Pennsylvania as it develops digital equity and broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) plans, authority Deputy Director Erin Wachter told the board. The authority will “continuously evaluate the need to update the plan,” but it has no set schedule for considering revisions, she said.
NTIA just sent Pennsylvania $5 million for BEAD planning costs and $1.6 million for digital equity planning costs, said Carson. That’s “good news,” but it “does start the 270-day clock … for the development of a five-year action plan that’s required as part of BEAD,” he said. The BEAD plan will be due in August, while the authority has until October to develop its digital equity plan, said the broadband office head. The authority plans to release a request for proposals next week to procure one or more consultants to help with planning, said Carson: Proposals will be due Jan. 2. “Even as we’re building staff capacity at the broadband office, this will be a heavy lift.”
“Pennsylvania's in really great shape,” said Nicole Ugarte Swanson, NTIA federal program officer. “A lot of other states are looking to what’s being done here, particularly with [Pennsylvania’s] governance structure.” There is a “tight timeline” to finish the BEAD action plan and local coordination will be a key component, she said.
"Equal access to the internet, regardless of location or income, must be provided if Pennsylvania is to remain competitive; offer every child a quality education; access modern-day healthcare options, and provide a place for our farms and businesses to thrive and compete in a 21st-century economy," said the state broadband plan. Lacking infrastructure means at least 250,000 locations don’t have 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, and another 140,000 don’t have 100/20 Mbps, it said. Adoption is another challenge, with the federal affordable connectivity program “undersubscribed,” it said. About 1.6 million Pennsylvania households (31.2%) lack a computer and smartphone, the 34th lowest percentage in the U.S., noted the plan: And about 1.2 million (14.6%) Pennsylvania adults aren’t digitally literate.
The Pennsylvania authority should use new FCC maps to locate unserved and underserved areas, and work with ISPs, localities, schools and universities “to review this data, challenge it where appropriate, and determine where federal resources are most needed in an efficient and consistent manner,” the state plan said. State regulators expressed eagerness to see new federal maps at the NARUC conference this week (see 2211150047).
Pennsylvania should reduce obstacles to deployment, including by reviewing permitting issues and lease and attachment fee structures, the plan said. “Resources owned by local, state, and federal governments, private landowners, or other entities, requires coordination, expedited permission and, to the extent possible, streamlining to produce uniform rules and regulations.” Pennsylvania should tap existing infrastructure, including through partnerships with utilities, and institute a dig-once policy, it said. Also, the state should consider creating a "broadband ready" program for local governments like in Georgia, Indiana and North Carolina. The authority is already working on the latter, Carson told the board.
Residents should have multiple affordable service options, the state plan said. Pennsylvania “should encourage partnerships between providers and local community leaders to create financially self-sustaining models that address the continued operation of their networks in the absence of future broadband funding,” it said. “Regions should encourage more efficient and larger subsidized and comprehensive builds to make use of economies of scale that will best align resources to position communities for expansion of broadband infrastructure.” Pennsylvania should provide training and develop a digital literacy plan, it said.
Nebraska received about $5.6 million for IIJA planning costs, including $5 million for BEAD and nearly $600,000 for digital equity, NTIA said Wednesday. "These new funds lay the foundation to increase the accessibility of Internet service for all Nebraskans, particularly those in rural communities," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
"State and territory broadband offices have dramatically increased in size over the past year as they deploy billions of dollars in economic recovery funds and start to manage a historic federal investment in broadband expansion," Pew said Tuesday. Every state and territory designated an office or agency for broadband, compared to about half in 2020, it said. Pew found 68 job postings for broadband offices across 29 states from September 2021 to September 2022, it said.