Pennsylvania was awarded $100 to fund broadband improvements and connect educational institutions in the northern tier counties.
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The Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN) project is a partnership of leading universities, healthcare providers, library associations, and other key institutions.
PennREN will be a nearly 1,700-mile fiber network that expects to expand broadband Internet access and directly connect 60 critical community anchor institutions in 39 counties across South and Central Pennsylvania.
This funding will dovetail with a $29 million dollar grant which will enhance connectivity to schools and public institutions across northern teir counties in the Commonwealth.
Enhancing Connectivity in Northern Pennsylvania proposes to increase broadband Internet connection speeds for community anchor institutions and underserved areas isolated by difficult, mountainous terrain across the northern half of the state. The project will leverage Pennsylvania’s existing microwave public safety communications network by adding a parallel 150 Mbps Ethernet backbone stretching 649 miles across the state, as well as 612 miles of fixed wireless links. The Commonwealth, working with last mile providers, expects to connect at least 530 anchor institutions to this shared backbone and the public Internet.
