Casey: Broadband funding for rural areas key element of infrastructure bill

A lack of quality broadband internet service is an issue that the pandemic shined a glaring light on in 2020.

Nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians don’t have reliable high-speed internet access — an estimate that dwarfs the city of Pittsburgh’s population.

It’s going to take close collaboration with state- and county-level officials in areas such as Cambria, Indiana and Somerset counties — but $100 million in new statewide funds will build broadband bridges to close lingering gaps in rural Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. said Monday.

“Broadband is just one of a long list of elements in the infrastructure bill, but it’s one of the most important we could’ve invested in,” said Casey, touting it as a modern-day necessity in the age of virtual learning, online business opportunities and remote work.

As outlined, the infrastructure bill will initially provide $100 million in funds toward broadband expansion in Pennsylvania and another $35 million to enable as many as 2.9 million residents who cannot afford internet to receive high-speed service at discounted rates, Casey during a conference call Monday.

Most of those 2.9 millions Pennsylvanians are either urban or the very rural poor, the senator said. A large percentage are working families that are able to get by every day — but cannot afford everyday “extras” such as high-speed service, Casey said.

If it’s affecting children, it’s affecting America’s future, he said, arguing that too many school-age children are being left behind — missing valuable opportunities to become better learners.

“We’re not going to outcompete China unless we invest in your children,” he said. “We need to make sure they have the essential tools they need.”

Like the historic Pennsylvania Main Line Canal or airports when they debuted, broadband is part of today’s infrastructure that allows small businesses to reach the rest of the world, Johnstown-born economic development specialist Donald Bonk said.

High-speed internet “levels the playing field” for rural Pennsylvania — an area often overlooked, Bonk said — “and it enables people to learn and earn a living in a better, faster, stronger way.”

Dairy farmer and former Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff, who joined Casey on a virtual press conference to highlight the bill, said it matters on Pennsylvania’s farms, too.

Just over six of every 10 Pennsylvania farms have reliable internet access — well below nearby Maryland (80%) and New Jersey (91%), the USDA reported.

Today’s farm equipment is GPS-equipped, allowing manufacturers to monitor and flag when a tractor or other piece of farm equipment isn’t running right. Farmers are able to use similar technology to track soil and seed productivity to help them better manage next year’s sowing and growing seasons, Wolff said.

“Here in western Pennsylvania, we’re so fiercely self- reliant,” said Indiana County Commissioner Sherene Hess, “but we know where our gaps are and where we need to be better connected.”

Given the growing number of funding sources to expand broadband statewide — including the Department of Community and Economic Development and community-based American Rescue Plan funds, the latest round of $100 million from the federal government is a welcome piece to a larger puzzle, said Hess, who spoke during the Zoom briefing.

“For the 30% who are really struggling in places like Indiana County, this is going to be transformative,” she said.

Cambria County President Commissioner Thomas Chernisky agreed.

“Broadband is not a luxury. It should be seen as a utility like electricity,” he said, adding that it is “invaluable” for both communities and economies.

Cambria, Somerset and Bedford counties are already working with Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission on a regional effort to expand high-speed internet availability — and the infrastructure bill’s federal funding can only help that effort, Chernisky said during a telephone interview Monday.

Pennsylvania has not yet announced how and where the funds will be distributed. Legislation is being considered to create a Pennsylvania broadband authority to oversee the task of addressing zones where adequate internet service isn’t available.

“The real challenge has been deployment (of broadband by service providers) in remote areas, because the economics don’t work,” Casey said, noting that it’s expensive to expand new service to areas with fewer customers. “That’s why these dollars are so important. But it’s going to require a team effort.”

The infrastructure bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15 after House lawmakers approved it in a 228-206 vote.

The law has received attention for the rare influx of bridge and highway dollars it allocates nationwide. But Casey acknowledged more needs to be done to better explain other sections, including broadband and universal pre-kindergarten investments that target smaller communities and rural areas often left out by massive federal efforts.

“Implementing a lot of this will take time ... and raising awareness will also take time,” he said “But that’s something we have to do.”