term that is statutorily specified for the routine engagement of
retail broadband access service under the BFRR process and could
be considered cost prohibitive to rural customers that lack
access to alternative broadband service providers and who have
paid increased telephone fees for decades to telecommunications
carriers for the deployment of broadband services; and
WHEREAS, The promise by telecommunications carriers to bring
fiber Internet or comparable technology to their entire urban,
suburban and rural service territories has instead resulted in
an estimated 2,000,000 Pennsylvania homes having slower DSL
service, unreliable wireless service or no service at all; and
WHEREAS, The deployment and adoption of broadband technology
in rural communities is a central policy challenge facing this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Broadband service is an engine of economic growth
that offers rural communities the hope of economic development,
the promise of economic revitalization, the energy of an
educated productive citizenry and the benefit of a positive
quality of life; and
WHEREAS, Access to broadband and advanced telecommunication
technology is essential for full participation in economic and
social life for every Pennsylvanian; and
WHEREAS, Consumers in this Commonwealth continue to stress
the need for faster digital connections so that local businesses
can sell products globally, school children can receive a
quality education and farmers can operate high tech equipment,
especially in rural areas; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission's Connect
America Fund offered funding to this Commonwealth's largest
telecommunications carrier to build new broadband network
20190SR0048PN0952 - 8 -
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