HARRISBURG, PA — Two broadband providers receiving a combined $56.3 million in finalized federal grants have projects extending into Chester County, positioning underserved parts of the county for new high-speed internet service as Pennsylvania begins moving its first major round of BEAD funding toward construction.
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority included Chester County in awards to Commonwealth Telephone Company, which does business as Frontier Communications, and IBT Group USA.
Frontier received $16.65 million for projects spanning six counties, while IBT Group USA received $39.68 million for fixed-wireless projects across 13 counties.
The two awards total $56.34 million, but that amount should not be interpreted as an investment solely in Chester County. The state’s published award information does not break out how much of either grant will be spent in the county or identify the Chester County municipalities covered by the projects.
The two providers’ multiregional projects collectively cover 17,690 locations. Pennsylvania has not identified how many of those addresses are in Chester County.
The awards are part of more than $448 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grants finalized for projects across 50 Pennsylvania counties. The federal program is administered in Pennsylvania by the Broadband Development Authority.
Pennsylvania originally received a $1.16 billion federal BEAD allocation through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Federal officials approved more than $711 million for the state’s broadband program this year, with Pennsylvania planning to award its remaining program funds before the end of 2026.
The projects can use a range of technologies, including fiber and fixed wireless, and funding can support planning, engineering, construction, network improvements and other deployment costs.
Recipients generally must provide matching funds equal to at least 25% of total project costs. The published awards do not specify the matching contribution associated with the Frontier or IBT Group USA projects.
The grants released Oct. 2 are finalized agreements rather than provisional project selections, moving the projects into the implementation phase.
Planning, design, permitting and pole-attachment work is expected to begin this fall. Network construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with high-speed service from the BEAD projects targeted to become available by 2030.
Pennsylvania said more than 448 million in the initial awards will support projects across 50 counties, with additional awards expected before the end of the year.
Residents can check whether their address is included in a state-funded broadband project at https://www.pa.gov/ConnectPA.
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