Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved and executed an agreement with the Commonwealth to deploy $711,295,843 in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to connect the remaining locations across the Commonwealth that currently lack high-speed internet service.
“NTIA’s approval of Pennsylvania’s BEAD Final Proposal is a significant milestone that moves us substantially closer to fulfilling our commitment to connect everyone in the Commonwealth to high-speed internet,” said PBDA Executive Director Carson. “This progress would not have been possible without the leadership and dedication of the PBDA Board members and our partners across the state. The PBDA team will continue to work diligently to ensure these projects move forward quickly — bringing reliable, affordable service to the households, businesses, schools, and libraries that have gone without this essential connectivity for far too long.”
Pennsylvania, which was originally awarded $1.16 billion in BEAD funding, is connecting all residents at a savings of more than $400 million, far less than originally anticipated thanks to the PBDA’s diligent work to connect all areas of the Commonwealth to high-speed internet while protecting taxpayer dollars.
These provisional BEAD projects will allow the Commonwealth to reach homes and businesses that have long lacked reliable high-speed internet, by extending existing networks to more remote areas, and ensure communities benefit from fiber and hybrid-fiber coaxial infrastructure wherever feasible. In some areas, fixed wireless and low-Earth orbit (LEO) technologies will provide an effective and scalable option to close remaining coverage gaps.
Through Pennsylvania’s BEAD plan, 20 approved entities across 69 projects will connect a total of 129,356 unserved and underserved locations across Pennsylvania. Of those locations, 74,878 will be connected by fiber technology, 6,855 will be connected by hybrid-fiber coaxial, 17,739 through fixed-wireless, and 29,884 via LEO.
