Pennsylvania clears delayed federal hurdle for $790M in broadband funds

Pennsylvania is one step closer to expanding internet access across the state. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the commonwealth’s Broadband Access, Equity and Deployment (BEAD) final $790 million proposal, according to Justin Backover, press secretary for the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). 

But this doesn’t mean it can jump right into implementation. Pennsylvania still has to finalize funding details and receive terms and conditions from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Backover said. 

DCED did not immediately respond to Technical.ly’s questions about timelines for these approvals. The NTIA approval, however, took two months longer than the agency’s self-imposed deadline.

BEAD is a federal program designed to expand broadband access nationwide. States, including Pennsylvania, have created long-term plans to award grants to internet service providers that will extend service to unserved and underserved communities.

Broadband progress inches ahead

The latest update follows multiple setbacks with the commonwealth’s BEAD proposal. 

As of last month, Pennsylvania was one of only 10 states and territories that still hadn’t received approval for its proposal. Five states — Alaska, California, Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington state — and Washington, DC are still waiting for approval. 

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA), the state office in charge of distributing digital equity funding, provisionally approved almost $800 million in grants in early September before sending its final proposal to the NTIA.

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. 

However, the PBDA had to scrap its plans and rewrite its proposal based on new program requirements after the NTIA issued a BEAD restructuring notice last June. 

As states around the country move forward with their BEAD proposals, uncertainty remains around the program’s non-deployment funds, or the money left over after grants are distributed to ISPs for infrastructure investments.

Non-deployment funds can be used toward digital equity efforts, such as affordable internet, device distribution and adult digital literacy programs, Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute, previously told Technical.ly. However, when the federal government announced the program’s restructuring, it told states not to make any plans for that money. 

“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.”