Pennsylvania digital equity funding stalls — again — as leaders wait for federal sign‑off

Pennsylvania’s plan to expand high-speed internet across the state is facing delays, even as other states are moving forward with their proposals. 

The commonwealth is one of only 10 states that still haven’t received approval of their final proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, a federal funding initiative to expand internet infrastructure. 

Without approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Pennsylvania can’t move forward with building out internet infrastructure in unserved or underserved parts of the state. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) didn’t provide clarity on what’s slowing down the process after the NTIA missed its self-imposed deadline.

“From the outside, it’s hard to say why,” Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute, told Technical.ly. “There’s a lot of paperwork and back and forth between the [federal government] and the states, which takes time.”

Once the NTIA does approve Pennsylvania’s plan, the state will still need to get approval from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and then finalize contracts with internet service providers, Garner said. 

PBDA provisionally approved almost $800 million in grants in early September before sending its final proposal to the NTIA. The state was supposed to hear back within 90 days, according to the federal agency. 

“Pennsylvania is ready to move forward and put BEAD funding to work as soon as NTIA completes its review and approval,” the PBDA, the Pennsylvania office in charge of distributing digital equity funding, told Technical.ly.

States scramble to meet new BEAD guidelines  

This isn’t the only hurdle Pennsylvania has faced in trying to get its BEAD funding approved. 

The commonwealth was originally allocated $1.16 billion in BEAD funds in 2023 and created a five-year action plan for how the funds would be used. 

Last June, the NTIA issued a BEAD restructuring notice that changed the requirements for the program proposals. For states like Pennsylvania, that meant scrapping three years of work and rewriting their plans to meet the new guidelines, Garner said. 

BEAD originally prioritized fiber optic internet, which is made up of glass or plastic fibers that are formed into cables and can transmit light signals. Fiber is known to be higher speed and more reliable than other types of internet infrastructure, although it’s generally more expensive to install. 

The new rules outlined that all types of internet infrastructure, including fiber, wireless, satellite and cable, could compete for these contracts and the lowest bidder would receive the contract, Garner said. The reason given for this change was to make the overall cost of the program lower.

“This was a big advantage to satellite and wireless providers, because it cost less to build their infrastructure up front,” Garner said. “It typically costs more to the household to subscribe, and the service is generally less reliable and much slower, but the infrastructure itself is cheaper.”

Pennsylvania’s current proposal breaks down into about 65% fiber projects, 18% satellite, 14% fixed wireless and 3% cable. This breakdown is close to what other states are doing, Garner said, but may still be subject to change based on feedback from the NTIA. 

Non-deployment funds remain uncertain 

Once the infrastructure plans are approved, Pennsylvania will likely have about $371 million left over, called non-deployment funds. This cash can be used toward digital equity efforts, such as affordable internet, device distribution and adult digital literacy programs, according to Garner.

“The deployment portion funds the wires, and it funds the ISPs that are going to build the network,” Garner said. “Non-deployment funds all the other ancillary activities that support that deployment and make sure we get value out of this investment.”

However, there is uncertainty around the future of this money. When the federal government announced the program’s restructuring, it told states not to make any plans for those non-deployment funds. Now, advocates are worried the federal government will try to take that money back, Garner said. 

In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting state governments’ abilities to regulate AI. Part of this order says that states with “onerous” AI laws will not be eligible for BEAD non-deployment funds. 

Without this funding, programs that support digital adoption will be left without support. People’s lives are only improved by the internet if they can afford it, know how to use it and have the right tech, Kate Rivera, executive director of the Philly-based Technology Learning Collaborative, previously told Technical.ly.

States are relying on BEAD after grants distributed under the Digital Equity Act for similar programming were cancelled last year, pulling millions of dollars in funding from the state for programs that non-deployment funds could support. 

“When we build these networks, but no one uses them, what was the point?” Garner said. “We needed these non-deployment programs to make sure people could get online safely, and use that internet service in a way where they can find jobs, they can participate in telehealth [and] they can learn to use AI.”