Uncertainty clouds Pennsylvania's internet expansion plans

As a new administration refashions the federal government in Washington, D.C., questions have arisen about the billions of dollars previously allocated to bringing speedy internet connections to every home and business in the U.S. Pennsylvania’s share of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration’s $42.35 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program is $1.16 billion. None of the money has been awarded to internet service providers who will be making the connections, and now questions have arisen about new strings that might be attached to the money—providing it’s distributed at all. Rural Pennsylvania would be hurt most by any holdups, experts say, places like Fayette County in southwest Pennsylvania, population 124,000, which has some 7,600 sites where internet connections are inadequate at best. “This funding will allow us to connect to the world,” said Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites, who said he was concerned about the status of the funds. “We need to be connected to compete.