BLAKELY — A Harrisburg-based firm will create a broadband assessment plan for Lackawanna County with a goal of identifying service gaps and informing future projects to address them, expanding access to high-speed internet for residents and businesses.
Meeting Wednesday in Blakely, Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak voted to award a two-year, $156,300 contract for the broadband planning project to the consulting firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. The county allocated $100,000 in revenue and finance professional service funds for the initiative in this year’s budget, and will budget the remaining amount owed for 2026.
“HRG understands that Lackawanna County is seeking to develop a county-wide broadband assessment plan to characterize unserved and underserved areas, develop a technological approach to address coverage gaps, and present cost scenarios for future broadband deployment,” the firm noted in its proposal. “HRG understands the importance of this project for ensuring economic sustainability and future growth in the County while also addressing current business, residential, and educational needs. To meet the requirements of the County, current and future broadband infrastructure must be reliable and affordable.”
A cover sheet submitted with legislation authorizing the HRG contract describes the broadband venture as a “fact-finding endeavor” that should help the county secure funding for projects bolstering its broadband infrastructure, including the expansion of its existing wireless network. One potential pass-through funding source, the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program created under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, made $42.45 billion available to expand high-speed internet access across the country.
Pennsylvania was awarded $1.16 billion in federal funding through that program two years ago; the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority is responsible for distributing federal and state funds for broadband expansion projects.
“Much of the initial focus of the … BEAD program has been on wired delivery,” county Chief Financial Officer David Bulzoni told the commissioners. “More recently the program has been expanded to include line-of-sight or wireless solutions, which are similar to that of the Lackawanna County Wireless Network.”
The pending HRG project will help the county target specific areas with a goal of building out new connection points that other internet service providers could use to reach underserved or unserved county residents in more rural communities, Chief Information Officer Mike Brown said. HRG will develop a broadband survey and speed test as part of a broader scope of work that includes service-gap identification and project funding and implementation strategies that will be included in the firm’s final report.
“The survey is going to show us where our blind spots are, where the people are being underserved (and) who needs help first,” Brown said, noting the county would seek and focus grant funding to build up infrastructure in those areas.
The county’s eventual goal is to establish a Lackawanna County Wireless Authority that would govern the above-mentioned connection points and coordinate with different internet service providers.
“As an open network we’re here to provide avenues for businesses to grow, as well as serve our citizens, that’s the whole point of this,” Brown said.
A committee of six county officials recommended HRG for the broadband project after reviewing proposals the county received.