Pennsylvania broadband expansion delayed; Here’s why

(WHTM) — Unreliable internet service continues to plague Pennsylvania, but disagreements on how much the workers who install the cables should be paid have buffered any chances of connection.

There are about 200,000 homes and businesses in Pennsylvania with unreliable internet service. The federal government under President Joe Biden pledged more than $1 billion to get the state connected, but there has been a disconnect over how much to pay the workers who will install the cable.

The fight has meant no jobs, no upgraded service, and possible jeopardy to that big pot of federal money.

“I’m sounding the alarm,” said Rep. Jamie Barton (R-Berks/Schuykill). “We need to get this done. We need broadband communication.”

The needs have been known for years, and more than $1 billion in federal dollars have been promised to wire Pennsylvania, but there’s one problem:

“Not a single person in Pennsylvania has gotten one foot or one mile of cable built to them,” said Todd Eachus, the President of Broadband Communications Association PA.

Eachus says getting residents hooked up has been held up by a fight over how much to pay the installers. The state recognizes them as electricians, who earn roughly $90 an hour. Eachus wants to classify them as teledata workers and pay $45 an hour, more bang for the buck.

“They don’t work in the high-voltage space. They work with fiber optics, which is low or no voltage,” said Eachus. “That’s the simple contention here.”

The Shapiro administration rejected Eachus, saying, “It stands by its conclusion that they be classified as electric linemen.”

Kris Anderson is with the IBEW Electricians’ Union and says they’ve made the higher rate since 2017 and doesn’t like the precedent a drop in pay would set.

“We have trained our members to do from the holes to the poles and everything in between,” said Anderson. “Going forward, on any classification or any job, someone can raise their hand, say, ‘Hey, we don’t agree with this. We feel it should be a niche classification that is far less than the posted rates.’ I think that’s highly offensive, and it’s counterproductive to advancing workers’ rights.”

But the project hasn’t advanced, and nobody’s made anything because of the wage fight. Some suggest the Governor is protecting a politically supportive union. Does Eachus believe this?

“There are various constituencies that have an interest in maximizing the labor costs, and that has driven some decision making, yes,” said Eachus.

“The politics of Washington have also changed since the money was first promised,” said Eachus.

“If we stall on this, the Trump Administration could very well say, ‘Hey, you obviously, Pennsylvania, you don’t need this,'” said Barton

In many ways, there is a gigantic opportunity to be successful here that Pennsylvania could potentially squander.