Pennsylvania

After the federal government canceled a major grant program over the summer, Pennsylvania digital equity orgs are struggling to stay afloat. The now-terminated $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act (DEA) would’ve distributed millions of dollars to Pennsylvania, helping to provide access to the internet, devices and digital skills programming.

A Digital Divide Simulation exercise convened by Neighborhood Allies with partner organizations, including the Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance, coincided with  with the start of Digital Inclusion Week.

This study examines the political economy, discursive legitimations, and effectiveness of the primary U.S. policy response to narrowing the digital divide: public subsidies for internet service. Using Philadelphia as our case study, we analyze municipal efforts to enroll low-income communities in low-cost commercial broadband plans supported by the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Like many other U.S.

Following a June 6 announcement from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that restructured the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, all states and territories have been tasked with reevaluating their plans to connect un- and underserved locations to high-speed internet.

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Board of Directors has provisionally approved $793.4 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants that will universally connect all Pennsylvanians to high-speed internet once fully approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Public policy analysis overwhelmingly hews toward the quantitative. In the context of broadband policy research, quantitative data gleaned from surveys and other sources can illuminate how connectivity initiatives like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) perform based on standardized metrics like enrollment counts, fund distribution, and the speed of broadband connections. However, these standardized metrics tell us little about how these initiatives affect the daily life of the very people enrolled in and often dependent on government subsidies for basic internet service.

Greenlight Networks announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Loop Internet, a locally owned and operated fiber internet provider headquartered in Scranton (PA). Loop Internet was founded in 2015 in Wilkes-Barre (PA) by an area resident frustrated by poor internet access within the community.

The Biden administration’s promise in 2022 was speedy internet access for every American as part of a $42.45 billion, once-in-a-generation U.S. infrastructure upgrade. Internet service giants Comcast and Verizon jumped in line with counties in submitting bids to make the dream come true by 2030. In Pennsylvania, contract awards for broadband expansion were anticipated before the end of 2025.

On Thursday, April 10, the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Board of Directors voted on proposed guidelines for the PBDA’s Digital Skills and Community Capacity Program. The program, funded by the federal Digital Equity Act’s State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, will provide $25 million for digital inclusion programs in the Keystone State. The eleven-member board voted 9-1 to approve the guidelines, with one abstention.