State launches interactive broadband map

After nearly a year of research and development, the Commonwealth has launched an interactive map to detail broadband access across the state in an effort to support broadand stimulus projects.
Mapping was part of $7.3 million federal broadband stimulus grant to show wireline, cable and wireless networks and to identify anchor institutions like schools, hospitals and government buildings, as we reported in January.
The information will be used to help business owners and residents identify places to locate their operations or families, according to a press release. It will also be used in a national map to be launched in February, which will additionally serve to inform broadband accessibility projects funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
The maps compliment unreleased prelimary documentation efforts performed by the City of Philadelphia when it applied for several broadband grants last year, a process we detailed in our Digital Philadelphia series.
The City applied for more than $35 million in federal opportunities, as we reported last September.
In July, the City was awarded a $6.4 million grant to fund public computer centers in the city, which will bring 800 new computers to 48 centers at city rec centers, homeless shelters, public housing and community-based organizations.
In coming months, Technically Philly will be investigating the economic impact of broadband accessibility in three distinct Philadelphia neighborhoods, as a winner of a grant provided by J-Lab’s Enterprise Reporting Fund, a William Penn Foundation-funded endeavor.