Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission unanimously voted to adopt the PUC’s regulations regarding pole attachments. PTA supported this initiative and filed comments with the Commission noting that its taking adjudication of pole attachment disputes from the FCC would help bolster rural broadband deployment. During discussion of the regulation, the associated costs on the […]

This may be a report card you lose on your way home from school. The Free State Foundation handed out grades on the issue of broadband deployment to some of the top Democratic contenders for President this week, and it wasn’t pretty. The FSF report graded on two specific items: 1) net neutrality and the […]

Proponents of 5G continue to work their way through the halls of Congress and statehouses extolling its virtues, but could climate change be one of them? The answer is yes, according to Verizon’s Ronan Dunne, who told attendees at an international tech summit in Lisbon that 5G has the potential to improve energy efficiency and […]

The Tax Foundation released its 2020 State Business Tax Climate report this week and Pennsylvania did…. not great. An overall rank of 29th best is bolstered by the fact that we did rise three places in the survey, but a 46 ranking for business taxes doesn’t have anyone cheering. The top overall friendliest tax states […]

Luzerne County’s Ralph Yanora received unanimous support from the Senate Consumer Protection and Licensure Committee to succeed Norm Kennard as a PA PUC Commissioner on Tuesday and passed full Senate muster by a vote of 45-3 mid-week. A Commission news release on the matter highlights Yanora’s 40-year experience in the water, wastewater and natural gas […]

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 […]