Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania

Issue Briefs

Broadband Cable's Pennsylvania Impact

The critical role of broadband in today's increasingly digital society is well documented, and for good reason. From statewide business and economic growth, to basic educational tools for completing homework and school assignments, to telemedicine, reliable high-speed Internet service is an ever-growing part of today's way of life.

And as our increasingly web-based society moves forward requiring the most cutting-edge advances in telecommunications, the vast majority of Pennsylvanians have broadband access largely due to cable companies having launched – in the mid-1990s – a private capital investment of more than $10 billion to build out robust Internet service throughout the Commonwealth. Over 85,000 miles of high-speed cable plant – providing services for approximately 3 million customers – connects our state’s cities, townships, boroughs and rural areas.

Pennsylvania joins 49 other states in the reality of not realizing 100 percent broadband access and adoption within its borders. The state’s cable industry - having literally launched Pennsylvania's first high-speed Internet service through its multi-billion-dollar investment of private capital more than twenty years ago - continues to expand its service footprint to the commonwealth's hard-to-reach pockets.

Governor Tom Wolf's recently-announced "Restore Pennsylvania" initiative includes rural broadband access as a component in helping the Commonwealth realize important infrastructure objectives within the next few years.

The 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload benchmark established by the Federal Communications Commission, and often referenced by Gov. Wolf's administration, is the appropriate measure for whether a broadband service provides advanced telecommunications capability, allowing customers to receive high-quality data, voice, and video telecommunications services. It is important to note that more than 95 percent of Pennsylvania homes have broadband cable access - and nearly 99 percent of those residences - are offered Internet speeds higher than those standards established by the FCC.

This widespread access to broadband service is the result of the investment made by cable companies in Pennsylvania, and commitment to continually reduce our state's digital divide. That commitment from Pennsylvania's cable companies also includes contributions that provide critical broadband services to thousands of the Commonwealth’s schools, libraries, medical facilities and community centers.

Pennsylvania's broadband cable industry is dedicated to continuing the aggressive efforts to close any gaps of Internet access, and remains engaged with local and state government to further that effort.