As part of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s $44.4 million POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) program, several broadband projects in western PA are set to receive more than $3 million. Among the grantees are $50,000 for a Greene County study of rural BB coverage, $50,000 for the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development […]

Yesterday, the PA PUC issued a news release recognizing National Cybersecurity Awareness Month with a theme of “OWN IT, SECURE IT, PROTECT IT.” Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieulle offered that “We all play a role in cybersecurity, at home and at work, educating ourselves about ever-evolving cyberthreats and taking steps to #BeCyberSmart.” Brown Dutrieulle chairs NARUC’s […]

The fourth and final rural broadband hearing of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee was held on Monday and featured extensive questioning of Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper by Committee Chairwoman Senator Kristin Philips-Hill. At issue was a recent state contract seeking to monetize state assets for the purpose of broadband deployment and […]

The fourth in a series of broadband access hearings will take place on Monday, September 23rd in the Capitol Building and will feature testimony from Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper, Penn State’s Sascha Meinrath (author of the Center for Rural PA study on rural broadband), Comcast’s Jim D’Innocenzo, and a representative from the […]

The Fiber Broadband Association and consulting firm Cartesian said on Tuesday that fiber can pass 90 percent of American homes by 2029 for an additional $70 billion. Where does the money come from? The FBA report offers that “a mixture of lowered deployment costs driven by private and public efforts and government support” would be […]

Another busy week on the rural broadband deployment front with two hearings held by the Senate Communications and Technology Committee. On Tuesday the venue was Monroe County where testimony was received from PUC Chairman Gladys Brown and representatives from the cable and wireless industries among others. Yesterday, the committee traveled to Fayette County and heard […]

At its Public Meeting yesterday, the PUC adopted a proposed order whereby the commission would adopt jurisdiction over pole attachments from the FCC.  The vote was 4-1 with Vice Chairman Sweet dissenting.

A Monday news release from PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that Equifax will pay $600 million ($425 million into a Consumer Restitution Fund and $175 million to the states) for its 2017 data breach which affected 147 million customers across the country. Fifty Attorneys General filed a multi-state investigation into the breach and Pennsylvania […]

Telemarketing in the news again this week in the form of an advisory from the PUC urging consumers to be aware of sales calls from competitive energy suppliers and reminding Pennsylvanians that they do not have to choose a competitive provider for their electricity or natural gas supplier. In addition, the PUC missive says that […]