State Broadband Capacity Building:

This project supports activities to ensure the successful direction, implementation, and monitoring of Pennsylvania’s broadband projects and related activities, and transfer the oversight of the state’s existing mapping program from the current consulting organization to the state. The state broadband office will direct the implementation of the state’s broadband plan, coordinate broadband activities across state and local governments, and sustain broadband as a priority planning area for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Technical Assistance:

Pennsylvania proposes this technical assistance program to qualifying organizations that do not have the knowledge or technical expertise to adopt, implement, and sustain broadband solutions. Through a partnership with local community and economic development organizations, and experienced technical assistance providers, the “Kick Start” technical assistance program will provide specific assistance, such as e‐commerce and e‐marketing training, to community anchor institutions and businesses; while fostering and facilitating the implementation of connectivity solutions; computer and information security, disaster planning/recovery and business continuity, supply chain management opportunities, and public computer center setup. After organizations complete the Kick Start program, they will have the opportunity to participate in a two-year intensive training, technical assistance, and implementation program to increase the organization’s use of broadband in order to maximize the impact it can have on their constituencies.

Other:

Research consultants will conduct broadband cost modeling and develop tools that estimate the costs of deploying and maintaining broadband services in unserved or underserved regions of Pennsylvania . This project will also support a statewide research and benchmarking effort to ascertain, measure, and track barriers to broadband adoption among Pennsylvania manufacturers and evaluating the impact of broadband adoption on growth, productivity, and competitiveness within this sector.

Data Collection, Integration, and Validation:

This project was originally funded for broadband planning activities and two years of data collection. In September of 2010, this project was amended to extend data collection activities for an additional three years and to identify and implement best practices.