Tuesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania House Communication and Technology held a hearing concerning the affordability and accessibility of broadband internet in the county.
Hosted at the Welcome Center in the 600 block of Philadelphia Street, the public hearing concerned the lack of affordable, accessible, and reliable internet service in rural areas around the community. Those who testified cited several community, educational and economic problems that stem from the issue.
One of those people was Jody Rainey, principal of Homer-Center Jr.-Sr. High School and chief of the Cherryhill Township Volunteer Fire Department, who testified that broadband access is essential for both first responders and students to operate efficiently. He says that the internet is in everything now, and it’s here to stay.
The committee says that there are currently over 800,000 residents in the state that are offline due to the high cost of internet service.
