The Importance of Affordable, High-Speed Broadband in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

I first want to set the scene by telling you what I heard from a rural firefighter who participated in a focus group I held for a project sponsored by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania about how the lack of internet impacts first responders and public safety in rural Pennsylvania: “If you lose signal, you can’t communicate, you better have God sitting on your shoulders because that’s the only person that’s gonna be able to help you.” This quote has stayed with me since I heard it last summer, because it encapsulates the dire need for meaningful, affordable, connectivity throughout the Commonwealth, but especially in rural, remote, and low-income areas, where broadband is either too expensive or completely unavailable. Lack of broadband impacts everything from education to public safety. I want to be clear: This risks the lives of the public and our first responders alike. One Pennsylvania community member I spoke with for my forthcoming book on the subject called the lack of broadband in his community a “cancer."