Broadband project moves forward as thousands in Centre County are in need of internet
Centre County took its next “foundational step” in moving the broadband strategic plan toward implementation during the board of commissioners meeting Tuesday.
The board unanimously approved advertising a request for project proposals from internet providers to develop a plan for expansion of high-speed broadband to include un- and underserved prioritized communities within Centre County.
Elizabeth Lose, assistant planning director, said this process is atypical of what the county usually does. Usually, when the county puts out a request for proposals, they are seeking improvements to a facility that they own, operate and manage, Lose said.
“In this case, we’re asking internet providers to come forward with a real rural broadband expansion project, of the facilities and infrastructure that they would own, operate and manage through a project that the county could possibly support,” Lose said.
With the approval, the RFP was put online. Once proposals come through, the county will determine what could reasonably be supported and what that will look like, she said.
Mark Higgins, chair of the board of commissioners, said Lose and the planning department have done “fabulous work” on this, as the guidelines only came out about two weeks ago. The state legislature made $200 million of American Rescue Plan funds available to bring more broadband to rural Pennsylvania, Higgins said.
The funding will go through the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority; the county has until July 10 to turn in its grant request. There is a local match requirement of 25%, which Higgins said will need to be a conversation between the internet service providers, the county, municipalities and potentially school districts. The RFPs are due May 26 and the board will discuss and select a proposal in June.
Commissioner Steve Dershem said there are about 9,000 homes in Centre County “that desperately need internet service.”
The board had an assessment done of the state of connectivity throughout Centre County. The Centre County Broadband Strategic Plan shows areas of un- and underserved populations. The study identified 4,300 addresses in “large, contiguous areas” that are “unserved” — reliable speeds below 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload.
The unserved areas, according to the plan, include “most of the northern part of the county north of Route 80, the area from Beaver Road stretching to the western boundary and south to Sandy Ridge, geographically isolated northern areas flanking the Nittany Valley to the northeast edge of the county, northeast corner of the county along the Union County border (and) areas south of Penns Valley along the Mifflin County border.”
It also identified an additional 3,600 addresses that are considered “underserved,” with service speeds above 25/3 but below 100/20 Mbps.
Underserved areas, according to the plan, include “the town of Clarence reaching west along Elm Road/Kylertown Drifting Highway and Pine Glen Road/Route 879, the west side of Bald Eagle Mountain from Walker Hollow Road south to Yeager Hollow Road, an area between Appalachian Highway and Nittany Valley Road from Snydertown to Axemann, Spring Creek Canyon (and) pockets surrounding Penn State University’s University Park campus.”
Lose said they’re looking for providers to target the priority areas identified in the broadband plan, and they’re looking for proposals that would serve 80% of the households in the project area that are un- and underserved.
From the start, nine providers engaged with the county and five or six of those have remained active and expressed interest in partnering with the county, she said. It is possible that the county receives and considers that many proposals.
“From that point, then the (internet service provider) would submit that application to the authority, given that the county can support that and then once it gets to the authority, … it’s up to them to make that determination if it is a really good proposal that can be advanced,” Lose said. “In all honesty, we could be looking at three separate projects in Centre County that could all move forward at once. I think that would be great.”
Vice Chair Amber Concepcion said she has heard from many residents that broadband access is a top need.
“When I have talked to people around the county, rural broadband needs have been something critical that I think pretty much every citizen who lives in an underserved area or knows folks who do, understands how important this is to economic development and for education,” Concepcion said.
The board also approved a professional services agreement with Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC Technology & Energy) for consultation services with the broadband expansion RFP. The agreement is not to exceed $7,500 for the period of May 1 to April 30, 2024, according to the meeting agenda.
