Pennsylvania receives $2.2 million for broadband data collection

A federal grant will fund research into the digital divide and ways to solve it in Pennsylvania.
The National Telecommunication and Information Administration announced Tuesday that Pennsylvania has been awarded a two-year, $1.7 million grant to collection data about broadband adoption, MuniWireless reports. An additional $500,000 will be used for planning a broadband strategy in the state, bringing the total award to $2.2 million.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which will handle the funds, was not immediately available for comment.
The NTIA has awarded $97 million to 51 grantees so far and will likely wrap up the remaining grants this quarter. The grants -which will be awarded to each state, the District of Columbia and five territories – are a part of the Obama administration’s strategy to improve broadband adoption in the U.S.
More than $300 million was set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to collect data to better assist the NTIA in distributing $7.2 billion to improve broadband infrastructure, create public computers centers and promote sustainable broadband adoption.
The City of Philadelphia requested $35 million in the NTIA’s first round of broadband investment, as we reported in September. The NTIA has not yet announced which projects will receive funding.