State Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks in Beaver Falls on Friday.

BEAVER FALLS — During a visit to the Carnegie Free Library on Friday, state Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) discussed the Administration’s plans to use more than $1.16 billion in federal funds the Commonwealth will receive to expand broadband and ensure every Pennsylvanian can access the internet. The funding is through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program funding and is part of President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative.

Last week, Governor Shapiro announced that the Commonwealth will receive the funding to extend broadband infrastructure to communities that currently lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access in order to connect Pennsylvanians and ensure they can go to school, start and grow businesses, and access telemedicine no matter where they live.

“When Pennsylvanians are connected to reliable broadband, they have better health outcomes, better education outcomes, and better economic outcomes,” said Shapiro. “That’s why we need to invest in broadband, right now, to grow our economy and strengthen our communities. Accessible, reliable, affordable broadband is important for every community and every family across this Commonwealth – no matter your zip code. My Administration will continue to work with all our partners at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that we can deliver real opportunity for every student, business, worker, and community in Pennsylvania.”

The $1.16 billion in BEAD funding to the Commonwealth will be administered by the PBDA – an independent, bipartisan agency created by law in December 2021. The PBDA is in the process of creating a five-year action plan that will put broadband in every community across Pennsylvania.

The PBDA worked with Penn State Extension to identify more than 50,000 locations in Pennsylvania that lack access to high-speed internet but weren’t included in the federal government’s initial map. The Federal Communications Commission has upheld 32,000 of those submitted, making those locations eligible for federal BEAD funding and helping to ensure Pennsylvania received its share of the BEAD funding.

The PBDA is now working to complete a five-year action plan for the Commonwealth’s BEAD allocation, which must be submitted to the NTIA by August 12, 2023. Pennsylvania will receive the BEAD funding in 2024 following the NTIA’s approval of the plan. The Authority plans to begin awarding subgrants to approved, eligible applicants in 2024.

Pennsylvanians are encouraged to participate in the community engagement events taking place around the Commonwealth throughout the summer. Feedback will be collected from these events, as well as an online survey, and will be used to help shape broadband programs, including the five-year BEAD action plan.

To date, Pennsylvania has received more than $1.5 billion in federal funding allocations for its broadband efforts. In addition to the BEAD funding, Pennsylvania also received $279 million in funding through the Capital Projects Fund and $6.6 million in federal planning funds in 2022.