Last year, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), a member organization that develops plans and programs for public infrastructure investment, released a report on broadband connectivity in the Pittsburgh region with a stark conclusion: “Measured data speeds [show] a region unsupported by the necessary broadband infrastructure to survive, let alone compete, in the current world.”
More specifically, the report found that nearly 40,000 households, 15,000 businesses, and 500 community anchor institutions in the 10-county Pittsburgh region do not have access to high-speed, broadband internet.
“Schools and educational institutions, medical facilities, and businesses need high-speed internet to properly connect residents, students, and medical and business communities to the world,” the report noted. As such, “it is becoming increasingly clear that broadband needs to be viewed as a necessity, like electricity or water.”
Campos was proud to partner with SPC and Michael Baker International, a leading infrastructure consulting firm, on research to inform SPC’s Connectivity Roadmap, intended to serve as a guide to build a broadband network that is available, accessible, and affordable to everyone in the region. And recently there have been some exciting updates in this area.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette recently reported that Washington County, south of Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located), just awarded its biggest contract to date to expand broadband access. Since 2021, Washington County has expanded broadband access to 7,500 sites, involving installing more than 840 miles of broadband fiber throughout rural neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, Westmoreland County, just to the east of Allegheny County, awarded its own contract to bring broadband to parts of three of its own townships in areas “with internet speeds that can be half the minimum federal standard of 100 megabits a second — when there’s any signal at all.”
It’s exciting progress, but there’s still work to do. “Among the places without internet in [Westmoreland County] is the municipal building in Bolivar,” the Post Gazette piece noted. “Getting the building online is not part of the new…contract…but may be part of future expansion plans.”
Regardless, we at Campos are thrilled to see our research supporting infrastructure development in our region—these moments when insights turn into action are what we thrive on!
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