Internet expands in rural Juniata Township | News, Sports, Jobs

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DUNCANSVILLE — Affordable, high-speed internet is now available to more than 530 rural locations in Juniata Township.

Pennsylvania Broadband Development joined Alleghenies Broadband and Crowsnest Broadband Friday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Juniata Township Municipal Building in Duncansville to celebrate the completion of the fiber optic broadband expansion.

“It’s a basic need, getting the internet out to folks,” said Brandon Carson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.

Crowsnest Broadband founder Dwayne Zimmerman received countless calls from the Juniata Township office to bring broadband to the area.

In turn, Juniata Township was at the top of the list when the grant’s Notice of Funding Opportunity came out, Zimmerman said.

The township building is called the “central office” because two 144-count fiber optic wire cables are there, which “feed the whole project,” to the surrounding area, Zimmerman said.

This internet expansion project is part of the Shapiro administration’s plan to increase high-speed internet access throughout the commonwealth.

Carson said five secretaries from the Shapiro administration sit on the PBDA’s board.

“Everyone has the goal of getting these locations connected,” he said.

In grant awards, Dustin Bishop, project manager of Alleghenies Broadband Inc., said they received about $1.8 million in federal funding to support their internet expansion project.

In total, the project cost $2.4 million.

Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, believes available, reliable internet access in Juniata Township is a “game-changer.”

“I’m so proud that there’s been such great collaboration between the state and rural folks,” Ward said. “It paid off.”

Goodbye buffering

Zimmerman said his company “feels like we’ve really contributed to the quality of life from business to work-from-home.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a need for reliable internet, Bishop said.

“Folks need it to work, they need it to learn, they need it for telehealth,” Carson said.

Juniata Township secretary and treasurer Dawn Brawley said her sister-in-law started to homeschool her children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, their internet connection could not catch up with changing times.

Her sister-in-law told teachers an assigned video would take her family “five hours to download,” Brawley said.

“Your schools don’t understand that these rural kids don’t have as good internet as they have at the school,” Brawley said.

Township supervisor David Kane said having high-speed internet “really helps out” students, especially during virtual days during the winter months.

Faster internet is used for businesses and organizations, but it can also be used to reunite families.

“I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen people get emotional, break down and cry on that FaceTime call for the first time ever,” Zimmerman said.

Expanding east

Places such as Martinsburg and Williamsburg are next in line for high-speed internet service.

While the western portion of the internet project is completed, Bishop said the eastern portion is still underway, the deadline being at the end of 2026.

“However, we think that we’ll definitely be ahead of schedule,” he said.

Bishop said those who do not reside in these areas of Blair County may still be covered by a fixed wireless tower operated by Crowsnest.

“Hop on Crowsnest’s website,” Bishop said. “You can simply type in your address, and you can see if your house is going to be covered by the fixed wireless tower opposed to the fiber optics.”

Starting with Juniata Township, however, the rural internet expansion process is just beginning.

“It never gets old lighting up a community,” Zimmerman said. “But this one? It’s a feather in our cap.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.