Stuck On Slow, Pennsylvania Renews Push For Rural Broadband

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In Pennsylvania, there is a renewed push by state officials to capture $140 million in federal subsidies for rural broadband, a windfall that could go to another state after Verizon declined it two years ago. The Federal Communications Commission plans to distribute the rejected funds through an upcoming nationwide auction, a move that state officials are trying to head off through public advocacy and a pending FCC petition. "We are deeply concerned that the loss of this funding will widen the gap between Pennsylvania communities and businesses that have access to higher broadband speeds, and those without — not just between rural areas and larger cities, but also, in many cases, between neighbors in the same counties," said Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner David Sweet. About 800,000 Pennsylvania residents lack access to high-speed internet, most of them in more remote areas of the state, according to the FCC. Twenty percent of rural Pennsylvanians do without speedy internet connections, compared to 3 percent in urban areas, an example of the so-called digital divide between technological haves and have-nots.


Stuck On Slow, Pennsylvania Renews Push For Rural Broadband