High-speed internet is a necessary tool in this day and age — for students, businesses and basically anyone living a modern life. But there are some parts of Centre County where that tool is lacking.
Now, the county is asking for community input as it works to fill in the internet gaps in Centre County with a Broadband Strategic Plan.
The five-minute Broadband Internet Speed Survey opened online on Feb. 7 to all Centre County residents and businesses who want to provide feedback on their internet service. The survey includes an internet test, which will capture the speed of the service at each location to determine if the internet service qualifies for broadband-level speed.
The information collected will become part of the Broadband Strategic Plan, which will provide a framework of actionable steps towards increasing broadband services countywide, including the rural communities.
“The goal is faster internet in Centre County in more places,” Commissioner Michael Pipe said during Tuesday’s board meeting. “We want to get as much increase in speed in more places, even in places that maybe are considered to have fast internet. We just want to get more.”
Pipe said he hopes people fill out the “broadband census” so the county can make good decisions when it develops a strategic plan to get that faster internet in more place.
“There is $100 million dollars available at the state for broadband that we want to be able to get. We have American Rescue Plan money that we can leverage, so this is an excellent time,” Pipe said. “For all those who have called in and written to the planning office asking what we can do to get high-speed internet, well this is a huge initial step as we go after that money.”
Commissioner Mark Higgins said Centre County is already one of the leaders in the state for rural broadband. He cited the private/public partnership with providers using county 911 towers to serve rural Penns Valley.
“We rolled out broadband in rural Penns Valley almost two years ago now, right before the pandemic hit. We are serving 800 families there. That Centre County model is now being replicated statewide,” Higgins said. He said the survey and strategic plan are a “historic opportunity” to continue to fill in coverage gaps.
Commissioner Steven Dershem said the pandemic highlighted the need for high-speed internet for all people in the county.
“From a business standpoint, from an education standpoint and from a governmental standpoint, high-speed broadband is a huge asset for any community. And for us to develop ours in more rural places in our county, it is just going to be an absolute requirement,” Dershem said. He expressed that it would be “fantastic” to provide fiber-cable connections to the more rural areas.
“High-speed internet is where it is at, and as we move forward in the next couple decades that will be exponentially more important,” Dershem said.
The survey is available online at centrecountypa.speedsurvey.org through March 25. A printable copy of the survey is available at centrecountypa.gov/2258/broadband for anyone not able to complete the survey online.
