Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Receives Latest Federal Approval to Implement $1.16 Billion in Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Funding to Connect Every Pennsylvanian to the Internet

Today, the PBDA received federal approval of its Volume II BEAD Initial Proposal in an important step forward in Pennsylvania’s efforts to invest $1.16 billion in federal funding to expand internet service for unserved and underserved Pennsylvanians.

The Shapiro Administration has a concrete plan of action to ensure the BEAD funding connects every Pennsylvanian to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet – leading to better health, education, and economic outcomes.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced that the federal Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the Commonwealth’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal – Volume II. BEAD is a federal grant program authorized by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which provides each state funding to deploy broadband infrastructure to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.

In June 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro and PBDA Executive Director Brandon Carson announced that the Commonwealth will receive more than $1.16 billion in federal BEAD Program funding to expand broadband in unserved and underserved areas to make sure every Pennsylvanian has access to affordable, high-speed internet. The BEAD Program requires states to submit five-year action plans to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for approval – and the PBDA completed and submitted its five-year action plan to the NTIA in August 2023, which established Pennsylvania’s broadband goals and provided a comprehensive needs assessment for the Commonwealth. The NTIA approved the PBDA’s plan in October 2023.

The NTIA also requires states to complete an Initial Proposal: Volume I & Volume II. The PBDA’s Initial Proposal – Volume I, which outlines existing broadband funding, unserved/underserved locations, Community Anchor Institutions, as well as the challenge process for BEAD funding, was approved in February 2024. Today, the NTIA approved the PBDA’s Initial Proposal – Volume II which outlines Pennsylvania’s broadband service implementation efforts including local coordination, the subgrantee selection process, implementation activities, labor standards and workforce readiness, low-cost service options and middle-class affordability. Today’s approval of Volume II moves the PBDA another step closer to accessing Pennsylvania’s BEAD funds and work toward implementation of its BEAD program to provide “internet for all” in Pennsylvania.

“Since Pennsylvania was awarded $1.16 billion in BEAD funding last summer, the PBDA has been working to provide the resources Pennsylvanians need to make ‘internet for all’ a reality across the Commonwealth and close the digital divide in Pennsylvania – and today’s NTIA approval of our Volume II is an important milestone in that effort,” said Executive Director Brandon Carson. “Now PBDA can take the next steps toward identifying the subgrantees who will construct the infrastructure necessary to connect the 276,000 households, businesses, schools, and libraries across Pennsylvania who do not have access to broadband at all.”

More than 276,000 households, businesses, schools, and libraries don’t have access to broadband across Pennsylvania. The Shapiro Administration is working to change that so every Pennsylvanian has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, which will lead to better health outcomes, better education outcomes, and better economic outcomes.

“Today, Pennsylvania can move its Internet for All efforts from planning to action,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “I congratulate the Pennsylvania State Broadband office for developing a strong proposal for how they will connect all of the state’s residents to high-speed Internet service.”

With Initial Proposal – Volume II approval, the PBDA now has one year to submit a Final Proposal to the NTIA that details the outcome of the subgrantee selection process and how the state will ensure service to all unserved and underserved locations. Once that final plan is approved by the NTIA, the PBDA will start a four-year implementation process to connect communities across the Commonwealth.

In addition to $1.16 billion in BEAD funding, the PBDA recently approved $204.1 million in federal Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant awards to 53 projects impacting 42 counties across Pennsylvania. The grants, made to businesses and non-profits, will be matched by more than $200 million in private investment.

The Commonwealth has also received: $45 million through the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program for community projects to construct, acquire, or improve facilities that are open to the public and will directly enable work, education, and health monitoring and $20 million to provide technology devices such as laptops for distribution to schools, libraries, municipalities, workforce training organizations, and other non-profits who can make them available to individuals that lack the technology needed to access the internet.

Visit the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority’s website to learn more about its work to close the digital divide in the Commonwealth.