Broadband Study Shows Few Venango County Residents Have High-Speed Internet Access

| February 20, 2018

VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — To anyone living or working in northwest Pennsylvania, the results of a a recent study about high-speed Internet access will come as little surprise.

The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission and Connected Nation – a technology organization that works to bring affordable high-speed internet and technology to communities across the U.S. – released results of a study they had been conducting over the last several months.

In Venango County, a little less than 16 percent of households have access to high-speed Internet, defined as speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, or 100 Mbps.

A little more than eighty-one percent of the county’s households have 25 Mbps, which is considered the minimum broadband speed as defined by the Federal Communications Commission.

While 25 Mbps may be adequate for a single user or multiple users with light use, the more users and devices that are in a residence, the more Internet speed that is required for everything to work faster and better.

Dan Manning, Connected Nation’s Community Technology Advisor for this project, said having faster Internet speed in more areas is critical to their future and that some of the statistics may be somewhat inflated.

“It’s critical for education, so kids can do their schoolwork at home, for economic development, for all the e-commerce that is growing, health care, jobs where people can work from home,” Manning said.

“It is a fundamental necessity to do business, unfortunately, not everyone understands how important it is,” Manning said. “It’s important to note that our data comes from the providers themselves, so the percentages may even be inflated beyond what they really are.”

In the Northwest Region – which includes Erie, Clarion, Forest, Venango, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence, and Warren counties – the region scored 57.9 on a scale of 100 for overall broadband and technology readiness.

Lawrence County leads the region in high-speed access with service available to 95.6 percent of local households.

In Crawford County, high-speed Internet is available to 69.8 percent of households.

Regionwide, with data also for Clarion, Forest, Mercer, and Warren counties, 35.9 percent of households have high-speed Internet access.

In Clarion County, 51.8 percent of households have access to high-speed Internet. In Forest County, it’s just 35.8 percent.

Erie County ranks dead-last with just 7.6 percent of its households having high-speed Internet access.

Communities that score 75 points or higher in the broadband assessment are considered high scoring, according to Manning.

Some believe the lack of faster high-speed access is having a negative impact on economic development in the region.

Jill Foys, executive director of the Northwest Commission, based in Oil City, said in a statement that lower access is a major problem.

“Comprehensive broadband connectivity is as vital to our region’s economic success as roads and infrastructure were 50 years ago,” Foys said.

Other study recommendations to improve broadband access include validating demand for the service and forming a team to oversee and implement actions.

The complete northwest Pennsylvania broadband report can be read online at https://bit.ly/2Ezf6tC.

The study was funded in part by a federal Power Initiative grant and with support from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“This study provides the Northwest Pennsylvania region with an understanding of our communications assets as well as its gaps. As an area with an abundance of natural resources and activities that attract young people and families, we need the technological infrastructure to allow them to work where they play.”

The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Broadband Committee started the first-ever Connected Community Engagement in Pennsylvania in June 2017.

The study identified the challenges and opportunities for broadband expansion in the region and what actions can be taken to encourage this expansion. Those include, but are not limited to:

· Establish a Local Team Tasked With the Responsibility of Implementing the Recommendations of This Plan

· Perform a Broadband Build-Out Analysis and Validate Demand for Broadband Service in Underserved Areas

· Develop Public-Private Partnerships to Deploy Broadband Service

· Promote Low-Cost Broadband Service Offerings for Vulnerable Populations

· Complete a Vertical Assets Inventory to Assist in Deploying Wireless Broadband

For more information, please visit: www.connectednation.org/. Follow Connected Nation on Facebook and Twitter.


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