Community Engagement Meeting On Broadband Held

A community engagement meeting sponsored by Blueprints brought the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority to town to survey and take feedback on broadband expansion in the area. The authority is in charge of developing a five year action plan and administering the $1.16 billion in federal funds just received by Pennsylvania from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. That funding is called the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment program, or BEAD. The idea of the meeting is to aid the authority by making sure residents that are described as unserved and underserved receive access that is described by the BEAD Program as “always on.” Attendees weighed in on issues they have with broadband. The comments ranged from total lack of access to affordability, stating that those on a fixed income would find it difficult to pay even $30 a month for broadband access. Difficulty dealing with service providers was also a concern. Engagement meetings will be held throughout Pennsylvania all summer long.