Category Archives: News

Proposed legislation in Harrisburg that would mandate minimum broadband speeds for regulated phone carriers and allow municipal governments to own and operate their own broadband networks will waste taxpayer dollars and bring zero benefit to Pennsylvania consumers.

One of the biggest concerns of the rural telephone industry over the upcoming disbursement of millions in federal broadband dollars is the prospect of squandering the money on unnecessary or unsustainable projects, President of the Pennsylvania Telephone Association (PTA), Steve Samara, told the Board of Directors of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. “Don’t repeat the […]

Pennsylvania’s rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) are eager to throw their support and decades of expertise behind the implementation of Act 96, the recently enacted law that created the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.

Before a Senate/House joint committee hearing, PTA President Steve Samara cautioned against repeating mistakes of earlier federally funded broadband programs, including overbuilding of broadband networks.

The state House sent the Senate HB 1658, which broadens the current ability of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to move public utility infrastructure, and enter into cost sharing agreements with rural landline telcos during road and bridge projects.

With no negative votes, the House Transportation Committee on June 22 approved legislation, HB 1658, that broadens the current ability of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PaDOT) to move certain public utility infrastructure, and enter into cost sharing agreements with rural landlines telcos during road and bridge projects. The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Doyle […]

With a strong majority vote, the Senate approved legislation that would help bridge the gap in broadband deployment and internet speeds between urban and rural areas. The bill, SB 341, introduced by one of the state’s leading rural broadband advocates, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), would modernize regulations adopted decades ago for rural phone carriers (the […]