Warren County, Pennsylvania, changes path on broadband

Broadband investment has been a focus for county officials since first receiving American Rescue Plan Act funding. What that might look like is coming into focus. Warren County's (PA) first foray into broadband was a solicitation for proposals for a $1 million Appalachian Regional Commission grant that would have expanded service with several volunteer fire stations as hubs. Two entities applied to work with the county on that project. However, one failed to meet the required number of households that would gain service while the other proposed owning the assets themselves which the grant wouldn’t permit. But the federal infrastructure bill has changed the game. Commissioner Tricia Durbin said there is a “very large swath of funds at the national level” available. “Instead of taking those (Rescue Plan) dollars and using (them) to expand broadband to expand (to a) very small group of people” the county is now considering using those Rescue Plan dollars as a match for bigger, federal grants. To that end, Durbin said the county will be putting out a request for proposals for broadband consulting services.