Wolf: High-speed internet for all Pennsylvanians by 2022

Published Mar 21, 2018 at 1:57 pm (Updated Mar 21, 2018)

Photos

Governor Wolf announces a new initiative to expand broadband access in Pennsylvania on March 19 (Photo provided)

Governor Tom Wolf created a new office dedicated to ensuring every Pennsylvanian has access to high-speed internet by the end of 2022.

On Monday he introduced the Pennsylvania Broadband Investment Incentive Program, which will offer incentives to private providers willing to invest in underserved and unserved areas throughout Pennsylvania.

“High-speed internet access is essential to growing our economy, expanding educational opportunities for our children, increasing access to modern healthcare, and improving the safety of our communities,” said Wolf. “For Pennsylvania to succeed we must close the digital divide ensuring every citizen and business has the access it needs to connect to the everexpanding digital world in which we live and work.”

To lead this initiative the governor appointed Mark Smith a former Bradford County Commissioner, as the Executive Director of Broadband Initiatives.

Currently, over 800,000 Pennsylvanians still lack access to robust, reliable, High-Speed

Internet. Over 520,000 of residents without access live in rural areas and over 250,000 in urban areas.

The Wolf administration will offer up to $35 million in financial incentives to private providers bidding on service areas within Pennsylvania in the Federal

Communications Commission's upcoming Connect America Fund Phase II Auction. The FCC is making nearly $2 billion available nationwide to providers willing to expand broadband access in unserved areas.