Wolf To Put $35M Toward Encouraging Broadband Expansion

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's administration says it's making $35 million available to encourage telecommunications companies extend high-speed internet service to areas that lack it.

Wolf's administration said Monday that it is hoping to expand broadband internet to every part of Pennsylvania by the end of 2022.

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The administration wants to make the incentives available ahead of a Federal Communications Commission auction that subsidizes the build-out of broadband internet to unserved areas.

Residents in sparsely populated areas say it's next to impossible to stream TV shows, telecommute, do videoconferencing or consistently access their cloud-based email. The FCC says about 800,000 Pennsylvania residents lack access to high-speed internet access, including one in five people living in rural areas. About two-thirds are in rural areas while one-third are in urban areas.