News Release: Connect Beaver County Broadband Celebrates Completion of Two Early Action Projects

March 22, 2024: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 
 

Beaver County, Pennsylvania – The Connect Beaver County Broadband Program announced that its two Early Action Projects (EAP) are complete, and new broadband service is now available to more than 250 Beaver County homes previously without reliable service. 
 

Municipalities with locations in the new service areas include Hanover Township, now receiving connection through Armstrong, and Darlington Township, South Beaver Township, and Big Beaver Borough, now receiving connection through Kinetic by Windstream. 
 

The new broadband service is a result of a multi-year collaborative effort between Beaver County and Internet service providers (ISPs) that aims to bridge the digital divide and connect all unserved or underserved locations in the County with high-speed Internet. 
 

“Like all counties across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we found ourselves with a large sum of money from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). Our Beaver County Board of Commissioners chose to allocate more than 20% of our $92 million toward this project,” said Commissioner Dan Camp. “We set out to have a direct and lasting benefit to our residents. We knew this project was important to continue to grow our economic development here in Beaver County.” 
 

The Armstrong EAP provided new broadband service to 65 unserved locations along Hanover Kendall Road, Airline Drive, and Hanny Beaver Road. The Kinetic EAP connected 139 locations along the Route 51 Corridor, including Route 551 and Stitt Road. A strong and strategic partnership between the County and Kinetic has also allowed an additional 46 homes to receive early connection through federal Rural Digital Opportunity Funds (RDOF) when these locations would have previously not been eligible to receive Internet until as late as 2028, per RDOF guidelines. 

“This has been a significant and impactful undertaking,” said Commissioner Jack Manning. “Considering that 45% of our municipalities have some gap in underserved high-speed connectivity, this investment in our future will continue to pay strong dividends to every resident and in the growth of Beaver County.” 

Through phone interviews, residents voiced how their lives have changed since receiving connectivity through the Connect Beaver County Broadband Program: 

 “I direct truck traffic for my company, so I need my computer and phone accessible 24/7. I used to sometimes drive an hour into the office just to have a reliable Internet connection to get work done. Once Kinetic came in, it made a big change in my life. It’s made the family happy too. Our house used to belong to my mother-in-law, and we wanted to keep it in the family when we purchased it a few years ago, but the connection was so bad, that we could never stream a movie with the grandkids or anything like that. Now when the family gathers on Sundays at “mama’s house,” there is a strong enough signal for everyone to share.” 

– James Feezle, Darlington resident 

“Having broadband has made everyone’s life in my family a little easier. We used to have a DSL connection, which meant we would have to unplug printers and Alexa, and my husband or mother-in-law would have to stop watching television any time I had a work call. Now, I can work from home without any problems, and everyone can keep other devices running, too. I have a Roomba and a Wi-Fi-enabled washer and dryer that I had never been able to use – I was never so excited to do laundry and clean my house as I was after receiving broadband Internet.” 

            – Courtney Javornick, Hanover resident 

More than 1,800 additional locations throughout the County previously identified in a 2021 Beaver County Broadband Feasibility report as Connectivity Opportunity Areas will receive service through Verizon before the project is completed in early 2026. 
 

“Our communities need this,” said Commissioner Tony Amadio. “There have been many changes in the past decades within education, public safety, healthcare, energy, transportation, government – just about every industry has been affected. This is a great investment for all our residents in Beaver County, and that’s something we’re proud of.” 

Beaver County continues to serve as a national leader in broadband infrastructure development. The Connect Beaver County Program demonstrates the power of collaboration between the public and private sectors to bridge the digital divide and create a more connected community. 
 

To learn more about the Connect Beaver County Broadband Program, view progress, and join the mailing list, visit connectbeavercounty.com. 

About the Beaver County Planning Commission 

The mission of the Beaver County Planning Commission is to provide strategic, coordinated, and objective guidance and oversight to the growth, planning, and development activities of Beaver County. The goal of the Commission is to ensure that Beaver County’s future is characterized by a healthy environment, economy, and society achieved through proactive planning, citizen representation, effective communication, and professional services. 

Media Contact: 
Nicole Long 

Chief Clerk, Beaver County 

nlong@beavercountypa.gov 

724-770-4405