ISPs Tell FCC Pennsylvania Is Covered; Researchers Disagree

While Internet providers report to the Federal Communications Commission that all of Pennsylvania has high-speed broadband service, customers, including some in Berks County (PA), know there are rural areas where broadband cannot be accessed. “We knew the FCC data was not an accurate picture,” said Barry Denk, director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. A yearlong study funded by the center, measuring median broadband speeds across PA, shows there isn't a single PA county where at least 50% of the population has broadband connectivity. “The FCC has noted that more than 800,000 Pennsylvanians do not have access to broadband,” the report said. “This new research indicates that these official estimates are downplaying the true state of the digital divide in Pennsylvania because they rely on self-reported data by Internet service providers.”