Funding will serve more than 7,000 households across south and central PA
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that Pennsylvania will receive over $20 million to expand broadband and access to high-speed internet in the Southern Alleghenies region. The Rural Broadband Infrastructure Expansion in the Alleghenies project, led by Huntingdon County in partnership with Fulton and Bedford Counties, Upward Broadband, Crowsnest Broadband and Alleghenies Broadband, Inc., will deploy last-mile fixed wireless service to Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties. Last-mile internet is the final stretch of an internet connection leading to a home or business. With last-mile fixed wireless internet, people can receive high-speed internet via a fixed hub that beams the internet signal directly to an antenna on a home or business without the need for a cable or phone line.
“The pandemic has shown us how vital strong and reliable high-speed internet access is for families across the Nation. I was a proud supporter of this project, which will help connect thousands of families in rural Pennsylvania so kids can do their homework, families can stay in touch and businesses can expand their markets,” said Senator Casey. “This is just the start of the hundreds of millions of dollars coming to the Commonwealth thanks to the infrastructure law to better connect Pennsylvanians to the world.”
In addition to this funding, Pennsylvania is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars for broadband through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over the next few years. The infrastructure law will provide $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) Program to award grants to states to support broadband infrastructure, mapping and adoption. It also allocates $14.2 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program to provide direct subsidies – $30 a month – to qualifying households to help purchase broadband service and significant funding for digital equity, USDA’s ReConnect program and devoted funds for middle mile broadband infrastructure.
