Plans Advance to Provide High-Speed Internet Access to Region

Bedford and Blair counties are on the list to benefit from a plan to provide high-speed internet access to rural areas of the state.

Plans are for more than 327,000 Pennsylvanians to gain access to high-speed Internet service through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction.

Thirteen providers in Pennsylvania successfully bid in the auction and will provide high-speed Internet access in locations across the state that are underserved or do not have access to broadband that meets current federal standard.

The FCC will allocate $368.7 million to these providers over the next 10 years. Virtually every Pennsylvania county will benefit from the broadband build out supported by this funding.

The following is a list of winning bidders, number of homes and businesses to be served, and total support for 10 years in Pennsylvania, by county:

Bedford County

• CenturyLink, Inc., 2,959 customers, $14,980,392

• Frontier Communications Corporation, DIP, 395 customers, $1,025,615

• Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 2,805 customers, $4,090,243

• Windstream Services LLC, (Debtor-In Possession), 300 customers, $1,257,726

Bedford County totals:

6,459 customers

$21,353,976 committed

Blair County

• CenturyLink, Inc., 264 customers, $288,816

• Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 2,405 customers, $2,012,143

• Windstream Services LLC, (Debtor-In Possession), 592 customers, $1,494,756

Blair County totals:

3,261 customers

$3,795,715 committed

Internet speeds

In Pennsylvania, the auction allocated $368,743,200 in support to expand broadband to 184,505 unserved homes and businesses over the next 10 years.

Nearly all locations in Pennsylvania that were eligible for the auction will be receiving access to broadband with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, with a majority (64 percent) getting gigabit-speed broadband.

Mbps stands for “Megabits per second.” Mbps represents the speed an internet plan is offering. The higher the number, the higher the speed possible.

Gigabit internet service transmits data up to one gigabit per second (Gbps) — or 1,000 megabits per second. With that rate of speed, a customer can download a full HD movie in a few minutes, update a smartphone’s operating system in seconds, or join videoconferences with ultra-high definition video. See related article for more information about internet speed.

The auction

The auction was used to create competition that resulted in more locations being awarded at less cost to Americans who pay into the FCC’s Universal Service Fund.

Nearly a million Pennsylvanians lack access to reliable high-speed internet access, according to the FCC.

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is an effort by the FCC to ensure high-speed Internet access in underserved communities. In total, the FCC will allocate $9.2 billion to 180 bidders, who will deploy high-speed broadband to more than 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses across the country.

“In the 21st century, reliable high-speed internet service is a critical utility for homes and businesses alike,” Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf said of the initiative. “The lack of this technology in our communities inhibits our students and educators, businesses, the healthcare system and more from truly connecting locally and globally. If we want to support our economy, give our students the tools to learn, and improve quality of life, we must expand broadband access.”

What is ‘Mbps’ and How Fast is Fast?

Mbps stands for “Megabits per second.” Mbps represents the speed an internet plan is offering. The higher the number, the higher the speed possible.

For household broadband needs, use our Household Broadband Guide to compare minimum Mbps needs for light, moderate and high household use with one, two, three or four devices at a time (such as a laptop, tablet or game console).*

Activity ...... Minimum Download Speed (Mbps)

General Browsing and Email .......... 1

Telecommuting ............................... 5 to 25

File Downloading ............................ 10

Social Media ................................... 1

VoIP Calls ....................................... Less than 0.5

Streaming Standard Definition Video ... 3 to 4

Streaming High Definition (HD) Video .. 5 to 8

Streaming Ultra HD 4K Video .............. 25

Game Console Connecting to the Internet ..... 3

Online Multiplayer ........................................ 4

Standard Personal Video Call (e.g., Skype) .... 1

HD Personal Video Call (e.g., Skype) .......... 1.5

HD Video Teleconferencing ........................... 6

* All information from the FCC website at https://www.fcc.gov