Project Title:
Rural Broadband Infrastructure Expansion in the Alleghenies
Funding Program:
Broadband Infrastructure Program
Project Purpose/Type:
The Rural Broadband Infrastructure Expansion in the Alleghenies project, led by applicant Huntingdon County, proposes to deploy last mile fixed wireless service to Huntingdon, Bedford, and Fulton counties in the Southern Alleghenies region of Pennsylvania. The collaborative partnership includes Huntingdon, Bedford, and Fulton Counties, as well as three Internet service providers: Upward Broadband, Crowsnest Broadband, and Alleghenies Broadband, Inc.
State(s):
Awardee:
Service Provider(s):
Project Service Area:
Rural areas of Huntingdon, Bedford, and Fulton counties.
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$20,463,175.24Funding Amount$22,736,861.38Total Project Cost$2,273,686.14Non-Federal Cost Share
The project includes the construction of new infrastructure to support an expansion of fixed wireless service to unserved and underserved residents and businesses. All proposed census blocks will have access to a minimum of 25/3 Mbps services (i.e., qualifying broadband service). Every household in the proposed service area will have access to 25/3 Mbps service. The applicant is also offering a lower-speed plan, which was identified as a potentially unallowable cost by NTIA staff during Programmatic Review, and the applicant was required to cure its application. In its cured application, the applicant clarified that it will only use BIP funds to provide qualifying broadband service. The one service plan it proposes with a speed under 25/3 Mbps does not add any additional equipment or expenses to the costs shown in the application.
In total, the project will result in the construction of 24 new towers and equipment fit ups to 8 existing tower sites to deliver fixed wireless technology to 3,965 unserved households at speeds of 10/2 Mbps to 150/45 Mbps.
Crowsnest will provide broadband service from 12/10 Mbps at $54/month to 150/45 Mbps at $169/month to residential customers. Upward Broadband will provide broadband service from 10/12 Mbps at $49.95/month to 100/20 Mbps at $299.95/month to residential customers.
This project will offer reliable, high quality broadband service to residents, businesses, and anchor institutions in the six counties served in the south-central Pennsylvania region, particularly rural communities. In total, broadband service will be provided to 3,965 households.
The unserved populations in the predominantly rural areas served by this project will receive access to broadband service. By county, the project will serve 60% of unserved households in Bedford, Fulton, and Huntingdon Counties.
Representatives from Alleghenies Broadband, Upward Broadband, and Crowsnest Broadband are listed as subrecipients of federal funds for this project. These Internet service providers will deploy the fixed wireless network in the service areas.