IMPACT FOR US HERE IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. MARCY LAURIE, THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, SAYS 276,000 HOUSEHOLDS, LIBRARY, SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES ACROSS THE STATE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO BROADBAND INTERNET. THE GOAL OF THIS MONEY IS TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND COMMUNITIES LIKE THIS ONE IN GLEN ROCK, BECAUSE THAT MEANS THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF MONEY COMING INTO THE COMMONWEALTH TO FINALLY CLOSE THAT DIGITAL DIVIDE. $711 MILLION IS TO BE DIVIDED UP ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH FOR INTERNET EXPANSION. YOU WOULD THINK EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, BUT THAT’S JUST NOT THE CASE, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHEASTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN PART OF YORK COUNTY. THERE ARE STILL AREAS THAT HAVE NO ACCESS TO INTERNET. SO IF YOU’RE A PARENT AND YOUR CHILD HAS A REMOTE LEARNING DAY, MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT. GLEN ROCK IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS. SMALL BUSINESS OWNER ALI COLLIER SAYS SHE’S ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH THE SCRAMBLE TO GET RELIABLE SERVICE. BROADBAND ACCESS WOULD BE REALLY, I THINK, IMPACTFUL IN GLEN ROCK SPECIFICALLY. WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES GETTING OUR CELL PHONE SERVICE TO WORK, GETTING OUR DSL TO WORK PROPERLY. COLLIER SAYS SHE HOPES TO SEE ACTION SOON. I THINK I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN. MONEY IS GREAT, BUT THERE’S ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE’S THE MANPOWER. YORK COUNTY IS EXPECTED TO SEE A CHUNK OF THIS MONEY, BUT WE MOST DEFINITELY EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE MONEY PULLED INTO YORK COUNTY TO CLOSE OUR DIGITAL DIVIDE. SO THAT’S THAT’S EXCITING. SO IT’S NOT JUST GOVERNMENT MONEY. IT’S ALSO PRIVATE INVESTMENT. AND LEADERS SAY THOSE EXACT FIGURES AREN’T DOWN YET, BUT
Pennsylvania to receive $711 million for broadband expansion
Updated: 6:57 PM EST Feb 11, 2026
Pennsylvania will receive $711 million from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding to improve broadband access across the state.Making reliable high-speed internet availableThe initiative aims to make reliable high-speed internet available to all, addressing the needs of 276,000 households, businesses, schools, and libraries that currently lack access to broadband internet.Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill said, “That means there’s going to be a lot of money coming into the Commonwealth to finally close that digital divide.”Julie Wheeler, Commissioner of York County, highlighted the local impact, saying, “We’ve got 456,000 people that live in York County. And a chunk of them just don’t have access to the internet.”York County community facing connectivity challengesGlen Rock, surrounded by hills, is one of the areas facing connectivity challenges.Ali Collier, a small business owner at Main Street Market in Glen Rock, expressed the difficulties residents face, stating, “We all have a lot of issues. Getting our cellphone service to work, getting our DSL to work properly. We live in an era where you have to work from home, do school from home, and you know, start small businesses from home. So having reliable internet access would be great.”Sen. Phillips-Hill noted that the issue was brought to her attention by constituents, saying, “Initially, this became an issue for me because my constituents raised this issue to me.”Local leaders are eager to begin work as soon as the funds are available. Sen. Phillips-Hill said, “We are excited to finally work through this process, get everything rolling, and of course, seeing shovels going into the ground and, you know, those Tesla data linemen doing their jobs.”Wheeler emphasized the ongoing lack of internet access in parts of York County, stating, “You would think everybody has access to the internet, but that’s just not the case. Especially in the southeastern and southwestern parts of York County, there are still areas that have no access to internet. So if you’re a parent and your child has a remote learning day, makes it a little bit difficult.”Collier hopes to see tangible progress soon, saying, “I think I would just like to see it actually happen. Money is great, but there’s also, you know, there’s the manpower.”Optimism surrounding funding impactSen. Phillips-Hill expressed optimism about the funding’s impact on York County, saying, “But we most definitely expect that there will be money pulled into York County to close our digital divide. Comcast is the primary recipient of those dollars, and they will be matching those dollars to do this deployment. So, that’s exciting. So it’s not just government money, it’s also private investment.”York County leaders are awaiting the finalization of funding numbers, which they expect to be announced soon.
YORK COUNTY, Pa. —
Pennsylvania will receive $711 million from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding to improve broadband access across the state.
Making reliable high-speed internet available
The initiative aims to make reliable high-speed internet available to all, addressing the needs of 276,000 households, businesses, schools, and libraries that currently lack access to broadband internet.
Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill said, “That means there’s going to be a lot of money coming into the Commonwealth to finally close that digital divide.”
Julie Wheeler, Commissioner of York County, highlighted the local impact, saying, “We’ve got 456,000 people that live in York County. And a chunk of them just don’t have access to the internet.”
York County community facing connectivity challenges
Glen Rock, surrounded by hills, is one of the areas facing connectivity challenges.
Ali Collier, a small business owner at Main Street Market in Glen Rock, expressed the difficulties residents face, stating, “We all have a lot of issues. Getting our cellphone service to work, getting our DSL to work properly. We live in an era where you have to work from home, do school from home, and you know, start small businesses from home. So having reliable internet access would be great.”
Sen. Phillips-Hill noted that the issue was brought to her attention by constituents, saying, “Initially, this became an issue for me because my constituents raised this issue to me.”
Local leaders are eager to begin work as soon as the funds are available. Sen. Phillips-Hill said, “We are excited to finally work through this process, get everything rolling, and of course, seeing shovels going into the ground and, you know, those Tesla data linemen doing their jobs.”
Wheeler emphasized the ongoing lack of internet access in parts of York County, stating, “You would think everybody has access to the internet, but that’s just not the case. Especially in the southeastern and southwestern parts of York County, there are still areas that have no access to internet. So if you’re a parent and your child has a remote learning day, makes it a little bit difficult.”
Collier hopes to see tangible progress soon, saying, “I think I would just like to see it actually happen. Money is great, but there’s also, you know, there’s the manpower.”
Optimism surrounding funding impact
Sen. Phillips-Hill expressed optimism about the funding’s impact on York County, saying, “But we most definitely expect that there will be money pulled into York County to close our digital divide. Comcast is the primary recipient of those dollars, and they will be matching those dollars to do this deployment. So, that’s exciting. So it’s not just government money, it’s also private investment.”
York County leaders are awaiting the finalization of funding numbers, which they expect to be announced soon.