The trickle-down effect of poor broadband
There has been some forward movement on a bill aimed at forcing the state to take an accounting of Pennsylvania’s communications assets so that they can be used to help unserved or underserved communities have reliable access to broadband.
Earlier this month House Bill 305 was voted out of the House State Government Committee. Now, the full state House of Representatives can examine — and hopefully take swift action on — the measure.
While there are many portions of our state that do just fine with solid online access, there are plenty in this area that lack.
Greene County residents have been complaining for years about their inability to reliably get online. Some communities in Fayette County, particularly those in the mountain area, also share that struggle.
Because so much relies on online access, the consequences of not having adequate service should not be minimized.
This goes so far beyond being annoyed at the inability to stream a movie on Netflix or play an online video game.
For some, it means not being able to connect life-saving medical equipment that requires online access. It is not being able to provide a necessary resource to students who need to check a teacher’s online classroom for assignments or research at home, or worse, schools not being able to use what has become basic technology for their students.
It means that when companies consider where they may want to open up shop, areas with poor access to the internet are likely to be passed by.
And it means that as other counties gain population, those areas that struggle with even the basic technological assets are always going to be at a disadvantage for growth.
Greene and Fayette counties both had considerable population drops since the 2010 Census. Both are now at risk to drop in county class rankings, meaning less funding eligibility for programs.
The site BroadbandNow warehouses internet availability data on states, counties and cities.
Statewide, they estimate 95% of people in Pennsylvania have access to wired broadband service. As expected, rural areas rate lower; urban counties like Philadelphia and Allegheny rate higher.
It’s not an acceptable disparity.
Not living in a city should not mean that our residents don’t have the same benefit of access, and it definitely should not mean that children in rural areas aren’t afforded the same opportunities that online access can provide.
They should not be forced to exist on the wrong side of the bell curve because of where they reside.
State Rep. Pam Snyder, a Democrat whose district covers all of Greene County and small portions of Fayette and Washington counties, has been beating the better broadband drum for quite some time now. She was a sponsor of the bill that now moves to the state House for a full vote.
It was great to see that her latest efforts are seeing some movement.
Her efforts should not go unrecognized.
As this legislation progresses, we are hopeful our other local legislators will fall behind her efforts and support them fully.