“Connectivity in the Commonwealth” is an April 2026 policy brief authored by Dr. Christopher Ali for the Keystone Internet Coalition (KIC) that outlines Pennsylvania’s digital connectivity landscape and provides recommendations for state leaders. It notes that despite incoming federal funding, over 156,000 rural homes and businesses lack reliable internet, while the expiration of federal subsidy programs has made affordability and digital literacy major hurdles for low-income residents. To close these gaps, the document urges state leaders to establish a permanent State Broadband Office, invest state funds directly into local infrastructure and adoption programs, and launch a statewide initiative to make high-speed internet affordable for all Pennsylvanians.
The Pennsylvania House Communications and Technology Committee held an informational hearing on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at the Indiana County Welcome Center in Indiana, PA. Hosted by State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) and chaired by Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery) along with Minority Chair Jason Ortitay (R-Washington), the meeting focused on evaluating the current state of rural broadband access, high-speed internet affordability, and potential legislative solutions across Pennsylvania.
In addition to the in-person presentations from local officials, educators, policy experts, and industry leaders, several other organizations and individuals submitted written testimony outlining the systemic impacts of connection barriers and recommending state-level interventions.
Key perspectives highlighted across the submitted and oral testimonies include:
- Local Leadership & Education: Indiana County Commissioner Sherene Hess presented data highlighting that 22% of county locations lack adequate broadband, emphasizing how affordability barriers affect telehealth, commerce, and human services. Homer-Center High School Principal Jody Rainey and local fire chief discussed how connection deficits impact remote learning and emergency response coordination.
- Policy & Academic Experts: John B. Horrigan from the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society and Dr. Christopher Ali of Penn State advocated for low-cost service options, digital literacy training, expanded funding for high-need areas, and making the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority permanent.
- Industry Representatives: Leaders from Alleghenies Broadband Inc. and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) detailed rural deployment challenges, urging lawmakers to consider non-taxable grant options, tax relief on infrastructure materials, and a balanced mix of fiber and fixed wireless technology.
The Pennsylvania Broadband Map is a GIS-based, interactive public mapping tool developed by the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA). Designed to foster state and local collaboration, the map serves as a centralized platform for visualizing internet connectivity infrastructure and tracking state-administered broadband expansion projects across Pennsylvania. It relies on location-level geographic data to display where internet service providers (ISPs) have applied for or received grant funding, specifically integrating major state and federal initiatives such as the Capital Projects Fund Broadband Infrastructure Program (CPF-BIP) and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
In the context of digital equity, the map acts as a key policy instrument for transparency, resource allocation, and accountability. By enabling community members, advocates, and local leaders to look up specific addresses and overlay project boundaries, it makes complex infrastructure investments accessible to the public. Stakeholders can use the map to identify unserved or underserved communities left out of current funding rounds, hold grantees and service providers accountable for promised deployment, and gather data to advocate for targeted digital equity interventions where high-speed internet access remains lacking.
Explore the Interactive Pennsylvania Broadband Map >
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This digital equity policy report, titled Broadband Connectivity Among Rural First Responders in Pennsylvania, was published by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and authored by researchers at The Pennsylvania State University. Published in August 2026, the report documents the systemic digital divide affecting rural emergency personnel across Pennsylvania. It reveals how dead zones, dropped calls, mismatched radio frequencies, and prohibitive equipment costs severely hinder police, fire, EMS, and 911 dispatchers from performing lifesaving work. To bridge these critical connectivity and resource gaps, the report outlines strategic policy considerations for state lawmakers, recommending the reallocation of surplus federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) non-deployment funds, Commonwealth-wide radio frequency standardizations, and permanent funding mechanisms for emergency communications infrastructure.
Published on August 6, 2026, the policy report “The Cost of Inaction: Pennsylvania’s Broken Broadband Governance and the Path Forward” was authored by researchers from the Pennsylvania Broadband Research (PBR) Institute, an initiative of the Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center at UPenn and Penn State. Designed as an actionable advocacy resource, the report addresses Pennsylvania’s digital divide, where more than 130,000 locations lack high-speed internet access and over 2 million households face affordability challenges.
The resource focuses on bridging this digital equity gap by examining current state governance structures and identifying key policy opportunities. It outlines strategic recommendations to maximize federal investments, including making the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority permanent beyond its 2031 sunset, increasing transparency, and developing targeted plans for non-deployment funds. To build long-term digital inclusion, the report emphasizes expanding community broadband, investing in digital literacy and device access programs, and prioritizing high-speed fiber infrastructure across the Commonwealth.
The Digital Equity Act, enacted in 2021 as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was designed to close the digital divide through federal grants to help underserved communities gain access to high-speed internet, technology, and digital literacy training.
In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) received $1.6 million from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program to develop its Statewide Digital Equity Plan (also available in other languages). That plan was officially approved by the NTIA in March 2024
On May 9, 2025, the PBDA received a letter from the U.S. Department of Commerce, notifying that the Digital Equity Act (DEA) had been officially terminated. Program activities were required to cease immediately, and no further federal funds would be reimbursed under the grant.
This policy presentation, titled “Beyond Broadband: Device Access and Digital Equity in Pennsylvania,” is a research resource created by Theresa Dunne, a Community Development Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Released in September 2022, the document analyzes disparities in computing device access across Pennsylvania using American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2016–2020).
The report highlights that digital equity requires more than high-speed internet; reliable at-home computing devices and digital skills are equally essential for labor market participation, remote education, and daily online management. Key findings show that low-access counties are generally less populous, lower-income, and have higher proportions of older or White residents. In contrast, low-access census tracts within urban areas have higher concentrations of lower-income households, people of color, and individuals with disabilities. Developed to guide state and local leaders as they crafted digital equity strategies under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, this resource outlines geographic and demographic gaps to ensure targeted investment in hardware, training, and inclusive digital infrastructure.
Published in February 2022, “Pennsylvania Broadband Access: A Speed Test Analysis” evaluates internet speed disparities between rural and urban areas in Pennsylvania using 2021 broadband speed test data. The document highlights that rural communities experience significantly slower connection speeds and face greater challenges qualifying as “served” under state and federal standards. Its primary goal is to inform state leaders on how to equitably allocate federal broadband expansion funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Pennsylvania’s Act 96.
The report was published by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The analysis was conducted using internet performance data from Measurement Lab (M-Lab), which was provided through a research collaboration between Exactly Labs and X-Lab at Penn State University.
Read the Pennsylvania Broadband Access: A Speed Test Analysis Report >
Published in July 2022 (and updated in November 2022), the “Advancing Digital Skills in Pennsylvania: 2022 State Plan and Recommendations” was created by the 2021–22 Workforce Innovation Network Pennsylvania team—comprising interagency leaders across state government, education, libraries, and workforce sectors—supported by a grant from the National Governors Association. The plan outlines a strategic framework to close Pennsylvania’s digital divide by expanding broadband infrastructure, improving device affordability, and delivering essential digital literacy training for adult workers. By establishing statewide standards and policy recommendations, this initiative aims to ensure all Pennsylvanians gain the foundational technology skills required to safely navigate, find employment in, and fully participate in an increasingly digital economy over the next five years.
The Digital Equity Scorecard is a policy advocacy tool created through a collaboration between Microsoft, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), and the National Skills Coalition. Last updated in July 2021, it evaluates how effectively individual U.S. states address digital skill gaps, broadband access, and workforce equity—highlighting metrics like unemployed populations lacking foundational tech skills and federal funding coverage. Designed for policymakers, advocates, and workforce leaders, the tool provides state-by-state data on digital skill needs, training resources, tech apprenticeships, and broadband planning. Its goal is to benchmark progress, reveal systemic funding shortfalls, and encourage comprehensive statewide strategies to bridge the digital opportunity gap.
Published in November 2020, Broadband Demand: The Cost and Price Elasticity of Broadband Internet Service in Rural Pennsylvania is a legislative research report published by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania in partnership with The Pennsylvania State University and X-Lab. Based on a survey of 1,446 rural and urban residents conducted in May and June 2020, the resource examines how internet pricing and technology types impact broadband adoption across the state.
The report reveals that rural Pennsylvanians face inequitable service, relying more heavily on slower options like DSL, satellite, and dial-up, while paying similar or higher prices than urban residents using faster fiber and cable connections. Despite these disparities, rural respondents demonstrated a higher willingness to pay for 25 Mbps broadband at lower price points. To bridge the digital divide, the study advises policymakers to update Pennsylvania’s outdated definition of broadband to meet federal standards, require standardized pricing transparency from service providers, study broadband affordability formulas, and allow municipalities, cooperatives, and community-based networks to build out local broadband infrastructure.
This report titled “Broadband Availability and Access in Rural Pennsylvania,” is a policy research report published in June 2019. It was sponsored by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and authored by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and Measurement Lab (M-Lab).
The report evaluates the state of the digital divide across Pennsylvania by comparing official coverage data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with real-world internet speed measurements. While FCC self-reported broadband maps claimed 100% broadband availability across the state, the study analyzed over 11 million field speed tests from 2018 and revealed that median internet speeds in most rural areas failed to meet minimum federal broadband standards. The resource aims to provide transparent, open-source data and evidence-based solutions to help state and local policymakers effectively address rural connectivity gaps.
This report, titled “Broadband Internet Use in Rural Pennsylvania,” serves as an academic and policy resource examining how high-speed connectivity is integrated across key social and economic sectors in rural communities. Authored by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, the study was published in May 2008 by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Based on research conducted between 2005 and 2006, the document evaluates whether local governments, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and small businesses utilize advanced telecommunications merely for routine, transactional tasks or for transformative practices that deeply enhance operations and engagement. By highlighting systemic barriers—such as high service costs, uneven infrastructure coverage, and varying degrees of digital literacy—the resource provides actionable recommendations to bridge the gap between basic technology access and meaningful, empowering utilization across underserved populations.
This September 2003 legislative research report titled “Broadband Internet Service in Rural and Urban Pennsylvania: A Common Wealth or Digital Divide?” The project was sponsored by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and conducted by researchers from the EMS Environment Institute at Pennsylvania State University, with additional contributions from project members associated with the University of Texas.
The report evaluates the availability, supply, and demand of broadband internet access across rural and urban regions in Pennsylvania. It specifically examines how last-mile deployment technologies—primarily DSL and cable modem services—differ geographically, highlighting a significant digital divide where rural areas face limited access, higher costs, and minimal provider competition. Furthermore, it investigates the impact of this disparity on rural economic development, education, and healthcare, ultimately providing actionable policy and regulatory recommendations for state leaders to promote universal, affordable broadband access throughout the commonwealth.