CRANBERRY TWP., Pa. (EYT) – The possibility of Cranberry Township linking with Venango County’s new fiber-optic network could happen, but officials said there are many hurdles to clear before any decisions are made.

The subject was broached at a Cranberry Township Economic Development Committee meeting Tuesday.

Mike Dulaney (pictured above), the Franklin Chamber of Commerce executive assistant who has helped lead the new network initiative, spoke about the efforts that began in April 2016 between the county, the City of Franklin, and the Franklin Industrial and Commercial Development Authority (FICDA).

Fiber-optic lines and points of presence that serve as boosters and relays were installed.

Currently, Franklin serves as the core site while several other connections have been made, including the county’s 911 Center, city fire departments, the county airport, public schools, and related organizations.

Public safety groups and public schools received some state money to connect.

For Cranberry Township Supervisor Harold Best, he said such a plan is very preliminary right now.

“I’m sure we’d love to have it, but we haven’t even spent five minutes talking about it,” Best said. “A lot of information would need to be gathered.”

“How do we benefit from it? It could cost millions and it would have to benefit everyone,” Best said.

Cranberry Township Manager Chad Findlay said “it could be a great thing” but he needs a lot more information before he said the township would move forward with such a plan.

“Amazon and Apple were mentioned, but we don’t have enough here to pull companies like that into this area. We don’t have the highways, the infrastructure that is needed,” Findlay said.

“I’m not sure we can have a return on such a large investment, but the more entities that are involved, the lower the cost would be.”

For Dulaney, he believes having high-speed internet is something the county and its municipalities can’t live without.

“This is how businesses work today,” Dulaney said. “Look at how much business is done online. And even for manufacturing businesses, they rely heavily on high-speed internet to be able to download plans, blueprints, schematics, and information they rely on to get the work done.”

Dulaney said he hears frequently how businesses rely on a good fiber optics network and how it costs them money when they don’t have one.

“A lot of businesses ask the question ‘Do you have good internet?’ This is a big deal to them,” Dulaney said.

Dulaney said it could take years to recoup the money that the township might have to spend, but it could be sooner.

“The more that are involved, the better things will be for businesses that may want to come here.”

“Many people say we don’t have much around here, but we have a lot to offer, outdoors activities are a big draw and many tech companies are run by people and have employees that are into those types of things.”

“Having high-speed internet is as important as having good roads and sewage systems,” Dulaney said. “We are centrally located between Erie, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, so we do have some advantages to where we are.”

“This is going to be the future of everything, and we don’t want to miss our opportunity. We could be the next Silicon Valley,” Dulaney said.

Dulaney said testing of the new network seems to be going well.

“We want people to know we are trying to do things to improve the county. Our work is to help economic development and create jobs,” Dulaney said.