Westmoreland to study county's broadband needs

Westmoreland commissioners are expected to pay a consulting firm more than $659,000 this year to study how to improve high-speed internet access.

Michael Baker International will conduct the study to assess the needs and create a blueprint of how to implement a plan to upgrade the infrastructure needed to improve broadband service for residents.

The study will focus strictly on Westmoreland County. Over the past two years, the county participated in two regional studies that evaluated broadband access: one by the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission in Pittsburgh that looked at 10 regional counties including Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington and another by the Altoona-based Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission that explored internet access in more counties including Bedford, Blair and Somerset.

Both assessed residents’ opinions about broadband access and user satisfaction. They lacked specific data as to what scope of high-speed internet was available throughout the county.

“This will be a deeper dive,” Commissioner Doug Chew said of the planned study.

Michael Baker International conducted the initial internet study for the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission. That study found that as much as 12% of the regional population relied on cellular service for internet access while at least 2% of homes had no fixed broadband service.

Both studies broadly looked at internet access but left local officials with questions about specific needs including the infrastructure required to provide high-speed service to all residents in urban as well as rural settings.

Commissioners said the consultants will fan out through the county to talk to residents and record internet access data and speeds of service to assess future needs. It will focus on needs for both wired and wireless service.

“We will have people in the field collecting information and doing testing,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. “Our needs could be smaller or larger; we just don’t know.”

The contract includes four annual renewal options that, if exercised, would cost more than $1.6 million in additional payments.

Commissioners said a portion of the county’s $105 million in American Rescue Plan funds will pay for the broadband study.