Wondering where you can get online? Now you can go to a single website and find where broadband is available throughout Pennsylvania.
Using $7.3 million in federal stimulus money, the state recently launched an interactive map that shows where the Internet is accessible through cable, wireless networks, fiber-optic and telephone lines. Viewers can zoom in on a certain location or search for Internet service providers serving a particular street address. The map stems from a state law passed in 2004, requiring broadband access statewide by 2015.
Sue Suleski, director of broadband initiatives at the state Department of Community and Economic Development, says the main point of the map is to show where broadband service is lacking in Pennsylvania. Most of the need is in northern pockets of the state. Then it will be easier to target government funding for broadband expansion. (The state has already received $28.8 million in stimulus dollars to improve broadband north of Interstate 80). Suleski says Internet service providers are also excited to see the map so they’ll have a better idea of where to build up their customer base.
“Broadband is certainly a powerful economic driver,” she says, adding that areas without broadband access will be at a disadvantage in an increasingly technologically-driven economy.
Suleski says the map will be updated every six months, as some Internet service providers didn’t provide information for the project. The plan is to include Pennsylvania’s broadband map as part of a similar national map expected to debut in February.
Source: Sue Suleski, Department of Community and Economic Development
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen