(5/2024) It is time for another Adams County Broadband update. This update will primarily focus on past and future grant updates and next steps for the Adams County Broadband Taskforce, as we work to maximize results and grant funding for Adams County residents. We are continuing our outreach efforts to educate local elected officials and have begun networking with local and regional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to get a better feel for their plans in our communities. Both of these efforts are a result of our 2023 Broadband Feasibility Study, which outlined seven areas of focus for our Broadband Taskforce. Please see previous articles to get up to speed on past efforts. If you would like to review the Adams County Broadband Feasibility study, simply go to the county website at www.adamscountypa.gov and scroll down to the broadband tab or follow the links to the county Planning Office page. Over the next two years there will be much activity in the broadband space, so keep tuned for even more news to come.

Let’s start this update with the good news. Adams County and Comcast partnered on and receiving a $9.4 million grant from the State to expand broadband services in many regions of Adams County. This was the first grant that the state rolled out for broadband last year and after much review the winners were announced in April. Of the over 50 approved applications throughout the state, Comcast’s grant in Adams County was the third largest. That is no small achievement for our residents. It means that the Broadband Taskforce and county staff have positioned us well for success and that the state is listening.

In the coming weeks we will meet with Comcast staff to begin coordinating with municipalities on the locations covered by the grant and the timing of installing services. As a part of the grant process county staff were allowed to view the map of improvements proposed by Comcast. While I am currently not a liberty to share that map, details will be forthcoming. The vast majority of improvements will happen in upper Adams, but all totaled 23 municipalities will be impacted. The following municipalities are included in the project area: Berwick Township, Butler Township, Carroll Valley Borough, Conewago Township, Cumberland Township, Franklin Township, Freedom Township, Germany Township, Gettysburg Borough, Hamilton Township, Hamiltonban Township, Highland Township, Huntington Township, Latimore Township, Liberty Township, Menallen Township, Mount Joy Township, Mount Pleasant Township, Oxford Township, Reading Township, Straban Township, Tyrone Township, and Union Township. The areas within these coverage areas will mostly be areas where Comcast was previously not an option. Comcast has already reached out to us to begin to facilitate meetings with municipal officials. Once those are set up, we will have a better idea of the precise project areas.

In other grant news, we are waiting for a state response on a broadband grant applied for by the Center for Youth and Community Development (CFYCD). CFYCD specializes in forming coalitions to support youth and families gain access to services to strengthen families and communities. CFYCD are new to applying for broadband funds, but they are no stranger to grant writing and serving the public through impactful coalition building. Their application for the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities (MFP) funds totaled $2,000,000. If awarded, these funds will be used to purchase and renovate a building for the purpose of residents accessing health care monitoring, educational resources, and employment services. CFYCD has a contract on a property in Butler Township close to Biglerville. Leaning on their strength in coalition building, CFYCD included partners from low income services, our local VA office, senior and minority agencies, and the agriculture industry. Their vision is for not just a broadband access facility, but for a community digital hub, where many non-profits will be able to serve their more rural constituents. While not in the heart of Upper Adams, where broadband services are the worst in the county, this property will bring services much closer to the populations that need them and will be very accessible to many residents and non-profit partners.

Over the next few months a smaller state grant program will be released to improve device access to the internet. Residents may be able to afford an internet connection, but they may lack the devices needed to access the internet. This grant will provide small grants to assist organizations in getting devices to residents. We currently do not have many details on this grant, as the state has been focused on the larger grants. We expect more in the coming months. Based upon what we do know, the county anticipates reaching out to the Adams County Library System to gauge their interest in applying for these funds. Libraries are critical anchor institutions, where residents are already using public computers to access the internet. Hopefully, this device grant will super charge their efforts. TBD.

My last update is about our outreach to local Internet Service Providers (ISPs). As I had stated, one of the focus areas from our Broadband Feasibility Study was to outreach to ISPs and WISPs (Wireless Internet Service Providers). These are the companies on the ground building out the infrastructure. While I would prefer that the internet was a public infrastructure, that is not where we are right now, so working with the providers is critical. Staff and the taskforce just had a meeting with Verizon representatives to gauge their interest in expanding in Adams County. There are about a dozen other providers interested in applying for state expansion funds. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will grant our $1.16 billion in funds to PA. If Adams County wants their fair share of these funds, we will need to coordinate with local and regional providers to maximize our efforts and reduce duplication.

While we are excited about the $9,400,000 that Comcast was awarded, we are not sitting back and patting ourselves on the back. We are aggressively partnering on these other grants, so we can reach our goal that every resident and business has access to affordable high speed internet. Again, I encourage you to check out the county website and learn more. Feel free to reach out to me, if you have any questions. mqually@adamscountypa.us