Hon. Joe Ciresi
Chair, House Communications & Technology Committee
325 Main Capitol Building
P.O. Box 202146
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2146

Re: Broadband Affordability and Adoption

Dear Chair Ciresi:

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on the importance of broadband affordability and adoption. We are the Keystone Internet Coalition (KIC), a group of non-profits, local governments, educational institutions, and concerned citizens dedicated to closing the digital divide in Pennsylvania. Our mission is to ensure that all Pennsylvanians, regardless of their income or zip code, have access to high-quality networks, reliable and affordable internet service, and devices and digital skills that are necessary to participate in our modern world.

Connectivity is a fundamental tool for securing employment, accessing education and healthcare, and engaging in civic life. It strengthens self-determination and autonomy and enables individuals and families to improve their circumstances and contribute to a more inclusive, resilient, and thriving community. Those without connectivity are effectively excluded from the systems that enable advancement.

We applaud Pennsylvania’s historic efforts to close the digital divide, which are bringing connectivity to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians that have been offline for decades. This is critical work that supports the economic opportunity and advancement of some of our most vulnerable communities.

However, there is still much to do. Pennsylvania’s existing programs rely on federal funds and focus primarily on the issue of infrastructure deployment in rural areas. While this is an essential and laudable goal, it unfortunately does little to address the barriers that keep most Pennsylvanians offline—namely, the cost of high-quality, reliable internet service and devices, and challenges with broadband adoption.

We urge the Commonwealth to expand its efforts to comprehensively address the digital divide, including the issues of broadband affordability and adoption. Specifically, we recommend that Pennsylvania:

• Establish a permanent broadband office with a mandate and funding to research and advance universal service goals related to broadband access, affordability, and adoption.
• Allocate state funds to support broadband adoption and device distribution programs, including support for digital navigators, device lending, telehealth, and workforce development. 
• Create a statewide broadband affordability program that requires low-cost broadband plans and/or provides a consumer subsidy for low-income residents
• Incentivize broadband competition by reducing costs to deployment and eliminating state-imposed roadblocks that prevent municipalities from providing broadband service.
• Expand support for community anchor institutions that provide services for digital navigation, broadband adoption, hotspot and device lending, and public internet access.
• Implement affordability and adoption strategies from Pennsylvania’s Statewide Broadband Plan and Digital Equity Plan.

The State of Broadband Affordability and Adoption in Pennsylvania

Relative to other countries, the United States has high monthly broadband bills at an average of  $84 a month, or nearly $30 a month higher than the OECD international average.^[1] This falls in line with Pennsylvania’s state survey showing that a majority of residents pay between $75 to over $100 a month for service.^[2] And, in rural areas, many residents report even higher prices, ranging from $100 to $200.

Compounding these high costs, over 2 million low-income Pennsylvanians recently lost access to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal benefit designed to help those struggling with their monthly broadband bills. Between the high price of service and loss of cost support, millions of Pennsylvanians are now facing an economic situation that can make internet service difficult if not impossible to afford. Indeed, the Federal Communications Commission found that over three quarters of ACP participants will likely experience service disruption or disconnection in the absence of program support.^[3]

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania’s current plans do little to address the issue of affordability.

Previously, the Commonwealth had determined that $48.60/month would be considered an affordable low-cost plan on BEAD funded networks, which, when combined with the ACP, would result in a monthly service cost under $20 for qualifying low-income households. This amount would have brought prices closer to the $10-$20 range, which research shows is a threshold above which low-income households will struggle to afford service (although for those in deep poverty, any amount is too much).^[4]

While these prices were arrived at within the context of BEAD, they demonstrate the tools through which the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) intended to promote broadband affordability—a requirement that internet service providers offer low-cost service to low-income households combined with a benefit to increase low-income households’ purchasing power. This was a strong approach to make broadband affordable on BEAD networks, and it would be a strong approach to make broadband affordable statewide.

Unfortunately, both of these tools no longer exist. The federal government reversed course and now prohibits states from requiring specifically priced low-cost BEAD plans. And, as described before, the federal ACP program has expired, leaving millions of low-income Pennsylvanians without access to its cost support. 

Given this lack of leadership at the federal level, we urge the Commonwealth to step into the vacuum and take on the issue of broadband affordability itself. Other states have done it—New York and Connecticut have passed laws to require affordable service plans for low-income residents; New Mexico and Wisconsin have expanded state universal service fund programs to provide a consumer subsidy—and there are other mechanisms to promote affordability as well.

For example, Pennsylvania could aggregate and publish information on existing low-cost offerings, fund initiatives to promote broadband adoption and device access, extend consumer protections to broadband services, improve the availability and quality of public wi-fi, promote competition by reducing barriers to deployment, and foster municipal, co-operative, and non-profit internet service providers, which have been shown to offer more affordable service.

Fortunately, many of these ideas fit within the plans Pennsylvania has already developed. According to Pennsylvania’s Five-Year Strategy Toward Internet For All, “addressing the needs and gaps impacting broadband affordability requires a combination of long-term policy solutions, including increasing competition, subsidizing broadband costs for low-income households, and supporting small broadband providers. By addressing these gaps, more households can access affordable high-speed internet services.”

The Keystone Internet Coalition agrees. Affordability is now an even bigger barrier to access than infrastructure availability. Despite this, Pennsylvania is currently taking few steps to make broadband more affordable for our citizens, 12% of whom live below the federal poverty line. As a coalition of digital equity advocates across the state, we at KIC represent the voices of people across PA who are calling for changes to make broadband more affordable. We are grateful for the opportunity to be heard and implore the state to begin meaningful work towards making broadband more affordable for all.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Blatz
State Coordinator, Keystone Internet Coalition

Kate Rivera
Executive Director, Technology Learning Collaborative
Co-Coordinator, Keystone Internet Coalition

Toby Greenwalt
Principal, Flywheel Strategies
Co-Coordinator, Keystone Internet Coalition

Drew Garner
Director of Policy Engagement, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Kristen Rotz
President, United Way of Pennsylvania

Inemesit Melody Zimmerman
Public Policy Director, United Way of Pennsylvania

Rev. Paul L. Waite
President, Anna Middleton Waite Learning Center

Jim Mercante
Co-Founder & Co-Leader Chester County Digital Alliance

Joan M. Holliday
Co-Founder & Co-Leader Chester County Digital Alliance

Dave Sevick
Executive Director, Computer Reach

Cassandra Masters
Associate Director, Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh

Berks County Digital Coalition

Christopher Johnson
Doctoral Candidate, Robert Morris University

Shambhavi Punjala

Dr. Elise Silva

Alex Garcia-Miles

Lizbeth Sherlock
Program Coordinator, AgeWell at the JCC

Nathan Flood
President and CEO, KINBER

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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