Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission plans regional approach to broadband improvements

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is teaming with Carnegie Mellon University, Allies for Children and others to take a regional approach to improving broadband service in the 10-county area in an effort to take best advantage of $65 billion in recently approved federal infrastructure funds. For more than a year, the planning agency has been working mostly behind the scenes with consultant Michael Baker to identify broadband dead spots, areas with insufficient service, and residents who can’t afford service, under a program dubbed SWPA Connected. Through funding from the Hillman Family Foundations, the group has held a series of meetings throughout the region to hear from residents about broadband service and developed a series of maps showing the level of broadband service in each neighborhood. On November 22, the group kicks off the more public part of the effort: a survey where users and would-be users can tell the agency about their broadband experiences and identify shortcomings to supplement the consultant’s findings. Ultimately, the agency’s goal is to serve as a regional clearinghouse for broadband policy development and to coordinate projects and applications for funding on a regional basis.