HARRISBURG – The Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) has approved more than $140,000 in grants for two projects that will improve broadband access in Erie County, said Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie.
An Unserved High-speed Broadband Funding grant of $111,084 was awarded to Spectrum Northeast LLC, formerly known as Time Warner Cable Northeast LLC, to install wired infrastructure to serve 65 households in Erie County’s Girard Township. The total project cost is expected to be $241,084, with the remaining $130,000 committed by Spectrum’s manager Charter Communications, Inc.
Spectrum Northeast LLC also received a $32,577 grant to install hybrid fiber-coaxial wireline to serve 17 residents in North East Township, Erie County. The total project cost is $66,577, with the remaining funds committed by Charter Communications, Inc.
An unserved area is defined as a designated geographic area in which households or businesses do not have access to at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream speeds and 3 Mbps upstream speeds.
The new infrastructure in both locations will provide broadband speeds of at least 30 Mbps download and 4 Mbps upload, with maximum speeds of 1000 Mbps download and 35 Mbps upload. Spectrum has indicated it will work with the state and local partners to assist with Digital Literacy and broadband adoption strategies.
“Many areas of Pennsylvania face issues of getting that last mile of broadband put in the ground and distributed for access, particularly for those in rural communities,” said Sen. Laughlin. “This money will allow local broadband developers and municipalities to expand their infrastructure for internet access.”
The Unserved High-speed Broadband Funding Program was made possible by Act 132 of 2020, formerly Senate Bill 835, and is administered by the CFA. The program provides grants to deploy middle-mile and last-mile high-speed broadband infrastructure to unserved areas in Pennsylvania.
CONTACT: Dawn Fidler dfidler@pasen.gov