Summary
The Associated Press reported May 21 that Pennsylvania is moving past a federal funding roadblock for its rural broadband expansion, after the federal government removed a requirement tied to a long-running dispute over prevailing wage rules for workers installing fiber-optic cable.
The change removes what the AP described as a potential major roadblock to connecting roughly 130,000 Pennsylvania homes and businesses that still cannot get broadband, according to the report.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development said the delay was “unfortunate,” while adding that the Shapiro administration insisted on “standing up for workers,” the AP reported.
The AP said Pennsylvania now has six months to sign contracts with the companies and other organizations that will receive funding, with those recipients required to provide internet service within four years.
A key question during the uncertainty was how workers installing fiber-optic broadband should be classified under Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage law, which sets minimum hourly pay for certain publicly funded projects. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry held that the workers should be classified as “electric lineman,” the AP reported.
Verizon and an industry group representing internet service providers, the Broadband Communications Association of Pennsylvania, pursued efforts for years to change that classification. The AP said the two sought relief in court, and also described documentation obtained by Spotlight PA through Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law showing federal officials had requested assurances about wage classifications.
According to the AP, in a December email a federal official told Brandon Carson, executive director of the state Broadband Development Authority, that her agency wanted “assurances” that Pennsylvania would apply “appropriate” worker classifications, and records from early 2026 showed a grant amendment that would have tied release of the funding to federal review deeming the classifications “reasonable.”
The AP reported that in late April the federal government removed the “requirement for accurate wage and worker classifications” from Pennsylvania’s funding agreement. A spokesperson for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration did not respond to questions about why the condition was removed, the report said.
With the prevailing wage issue resolved, the AP said Pennsylvania can move to the next stage of broadband rollout, including contracting with funded providers. The report also said a Benton Institute for Broadband & Society memo shows federal officials remain concerned that state and local permitting processes could slow projects.
The memo, the AP reported, says states must ensure broadband-related permits are processed within 90 days, while noting that states do not control local permitting decisions. The AP said Pennsylvania’s Broadband Development Authority has been working with a special unit in the governor’s office created by Gov. Josh Shapiro via executive order in 2023 to help fast-track permits for major economic development projects.
The AP also reported that it remained unclear how Pennsylvania will spend about $400 million in leftover funding after changes associated with the Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures and a reduction in the number of eligible locations. The report said federal officials rescinded Biden-era guidance on how states could use the money and said they would release updated rules in March, but missed that deadline.