Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority approved $204 million in Broadband Infrastructure Program grant awards to 53 projects across the commonwealth on April 18, including two grants that, combined, top $12 million to Armstrong Telecommunications Inc.
Armstrong's requested funding was for $6,759,670 and $5,710,411. It will match the amount by 25% in private investment, which brings the total to $16.6 million to expand broadband access across northern Butler County.
"Expanding access to the internet is essential to creating opportunity for folks all across our commonwealth, PBDA Executive Director Brandon Carson said in a prepared statement. "These projects will leverage historic federal funding and private investment to connect communities to the internet — and the PBDA will continue working to make this a reality for even more Pennsylvanians.”
Project applications were evaluated based on scoring criteria, including the size and scope of the unserved or underserved Pennsylvania community where the project will be deployed, the experience and ability of the applicant to successfully deploy high-speed broadband service, affordability standards that include a low-cost option, criteria to support Pennsylvania’s workforce, a plan to ensure high adoption rates in proposed areas upon the project’s completion, and more.
The timeline for completion is Dec. 31, 2026.
The BIP grants, funded through the federal Capital Projects Fund, cover line extension and development projects as well as large-scale regional infrastructure projects. Upon completion, the projects must deliver service that meets or exceeds symmetrical download and upload speeds of 100 megabits per second, with prioritization given to fiber-optic deployment. More than 40,000 homes and businesses largely in rural areas in 42 Pennsylvania counties, will be served by these projects.
Businesses, local governments, co-ops and non-profits now have an opportunity to apply for grants through the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. Pennsylvania will receive more than $1.16 billion in federal funding to expand broadband in unserved and underserved areas to make sure every Pennsylvanian has access to affordable, high-speed internet. The application period will open later in 2024.
