Could the Lehigh Valley champion regional internet?

Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Joseph Roy thinks that soon, high-speed internet access will be viewed as a basic right. Electricity, running water and indoor plumbing were all once luxuries for the rich, but we cannot imagine living without them today. As the leader of Pennsylvania’s sixth-largest school district, Roy sees tackling that digital divide as one of the top equity issues in his schools, as hardback textbooks are traded in for digital ones. That’s why he’s spearheading regional conversations about how best to get internet accesses to every Lehigh Valley household, and he’s not just talking to other superintendents. The district’s bringing to the table educators, elected officials, local governments, the Lehigh Valley’s top employers, and industry and economic development experts -- because high-speed internet access can reap dividends across all sectors.