The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is receiving over $1 billion in new federal funding to be used for the continued expansion of high-speed internet access.
Monday's announcement, which came from the office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, of $1.16 billion in additional federal funding for broadband internet infrastructure build-out is the largest in Pennsylvania history for such an effort.
"This record-setting investment from the infrastructure law will help ensure Pennsylvania students have every opportunity to learn, families to stay connected, and small businesses to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world," Casey said in a prepared statement. "High-speed internet is a necessity today, and without it, Pennsylvanians are left at a disadvantage."
It brings Pennsylvania's total to more than $1.7 billion in federal funding for such plans, which are part of President Joe Biden's "Internet for All" initiative that's backed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Biden signed into law in November 2021.
More specifically, the funding is coming from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is from the bipartisan-support federal infrastructure bill.
Funding from this program is to go to the development of broadband internet service in high-cost, unserved and underserved communities.
"Nowadays, reliable, broadband internet access is almost as fundamental as electricity or running water. We can’t let our rural and other underserved communities get left behind due to lack of broadband access," U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, said in a prepared statement. "This funding is a big deal and will help deliver more broadband for all people, in rural and urban areas, so that everyone has equitable access to stable high-speed internet at home."
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, established in February 2022, will receive and further administer the funding.
