BELLEFONTE — For those in Centre County still struggling with high-speed internet access, a broadband project that has been in the works for several months is picking up steam.
During the April 25 Board of Commissioners meeting, Liz Lose, the county’s assistant director of planning and community development, talked about the next steps in the project.
“The proposal is the next foundational step in taking the broadband strategic plan and moving it toward implementation,” she said.
Lose asked the BOC to consider advertisement of requests for proposals from internet companies.
“This process is atypical of what the county does. Typically, when the county puts out a request for proposals, invitation or bid, they are looking for improvements to a facility that they would own, operate and manage. In this case, we’re asking internet providers to come forward with a rural broadband expansion project of the facilities and infrastructure that they would own, operate and manage through a project that the county could possibly support,” Lose said.
During a meeting in March, Lose told commissioners there were about 4,300 underserved addresses in the county and 3,600 addresses that were receiving service, but not at a desired level of attainment. All told, there are close to 8,000 addresses in the county that are either unserved or underserved by broadband internet.
Lose explained that the RFP is necessary to get those homes on track for broadband internet access.
“We are going to be opening that opportunity with putting the RFP out online and then determining, as those proposals come in and come through, what we could reasonably support and in what form, what shape that would take place,” Lose said.
Chair Mark Higgins noted there is quite a bit of funding out there for this project.
“We’d like to thank the state legislature for making $200 million of American Rescue Plan funds available to bring more rural broadband to Pennsylvania. That funding will go through the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority,” Higgins said.
The county, he said, has until July 10 to turn in its grant request.
“There will be a 25% local match requirement. There will be additional conversations between internet service providers, the county, the municipalities and potentially, the school districts. It’s very complicated,” Higgins said.
Lose said while the deadline is just around the corner, there is a long way to go in the process.
“There is going to be room for negotiations,” Lose said.
According to Lose, a big part of this process will involve those who are unserved and underserved.
“A huge part of this application process, though, comes in the form of public engagement,” Lose said. “I think that is a really crucial part that providers can consider what we can — at the planning level — contribute to.”
Lose said the county could use town hall meetings, marketing and letters of support to help push the project along.
“That’s going to be a huge component that the municipalities can bring to the table,” Lose said.
Although she’s relatively new to the BOC, Amber Concepcion said she recognizes the need for rural broadband.
“When I have talked to people around the county, rural broadband needs have been something critical that I think pretty much every citizen who lives in an underserved area … knows how important this is to economic development and for education. We just want to keep it moving,” Concepcion said.
Commissioner Steve Dershem lauded Lose and her staff.
“Thank you for going from a plan on a shelf to a project that’s going to put internet into people’s homes,” Dershem said. “I really think that’s what the crux of this. We have a short window of opportunity and we need to make the best of it.”
The Centre County Board of Commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on May 2 at the Willowbank Building. The meeting is open to the public and will also be televised live by C-NET.
