Verizon, Comcast Receive Big Chunks of Pa. $204M for Broadband

Verizon and Comcast took more than two-thirds of the pie as Pennsylvania awarded $204 million in broadband grants Thursday. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) announced awards using funding from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund. The authority said that the awards for 53 projects in 42 counties will connect 40,000 homes and businesses. Verizon received nearly $78.4 million (38% of available funding), while Comcast took about $61.7 million (30%). Among other private ISP winners, Windstream won nearly $12 million and Frontier Communications received $3.5 million. About $200 million in private spending will match the government cash, the PBDA added. The state required a minimum of 100 Mbps symmetrical download and upload speeds for the projects, which must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026. “These projects will leverage historic federal funding and private investment to connect communities to the internet,” said PBDA Executive Director Brandon Carson.