HARRISBURG – Sen. Cris Dush (R-25) today announced that the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority has awarded grant funding for the purchase of more than 170 laptops in communities where affordability has been identified as a significant barrier to digital broadband access and expansion.

“Connecting underserved, rural households, schools and local governments with the technology and resources they need to successfully bridge the digital divide is absolutely critical for making our entire region more appealing for future development and family-sustaining job creation,” said Dush “Best of all, these laptop devices will be distributed to provide affordable and reliable online access to education, workforce training and other vital community services—all at no cost to local residents.”

The recipients of the laptops are:

• Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (Jefferson County), receiving 72 laptops.
• McKean County (Smethport), receiving 100 laptops.

The laptop grants are funded through the federally backed ARPA Digital Connectivity Technology Program and were part of a $20 million competitive grant process to Pennsylvania public-facing community anchor institutions, including libraries, schools, units of local government, workforce training organizations, and other non-profits.  

These institutions had to prove affordability has been identified as a barrier to broadband adoption and use and these devices are vital to their community with broadband access. Eligible projects focus on providing devices that facilitate broadband internet access while advancing digital literacy and skills training.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly established the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) as an independent agency of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) in 2021.

PBDA is responsible for creating a statewide broadband plan and distributing federal and state monies for broadband expansion projects in unserved and underserved areas of Pennsylvania. The authority focuses on closing the Commonwealth’s digital divide so all residents can get connected to affordable and reliable high-speed broadband internet at home, at work or on the road.