Pennsylvania Counties Eye Broadband Connectivity Study

Officials from Westmoreland County (PA) and seven neighboring counties are studying a proposal for local governing entities to step up and invest in infrastructure needed to expand or enhance broadband connectivity in under-served areas. About a dozen stakeholders from multiple counties attended a kickoff meeting for the Regional Broadband Task Force study. Meanwhile, Virginia-based consultant Design Nine is preparing a survey to gauge how citizens are obtaining internet service, what they’re paying for it and how they want to use it. The survey soon will be available to complete online or using paper copies. According to estimates based on a previous survey, nearly 6% of the 928,919 residents in the eight targeted counties (also including Fayette, Cambria, Somerset, Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon, and Fulton) lack access to wired broadband service of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload. But James Smith, president of the Greensburg-based Economic Growth Connection, argued that the 25 mbps benchmark is outdated as a connectivity goal, especially for businesses. “I’ve got businesses telling me if they don’t have a (gigabit per second), it’s not sufficient,” he said. “This is a business necessity moving forward, just like electricity. If we don’t have the ability to offer that, we’re going to lose.”