Good News and next steps

CoreConnect has received good news.  On February 9, 2026, Pennsylvania’s BEAD award disbursement plan received final approval from the NTIA.  On March 6, 2026, the final federal approval of the details was given by the NIST Grant Office.  The clock is now ticking since Pennsylvania must now sign binding agreements with subgrantees no later than 6 months from the date of NIST approval.

While we wait for our grant contract to sign, CoreConnect is moving forward by signing the contracts for final engineering and operation of the network, speaking with pole owners to obtain permits to place fiber lines, finalizing steps as a non-profit and more.

Among the next steps will be to determine priority areas to begin to build the network.  This is a large project across ten counties (Erie, Crawford, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Clarion, Warren, Forest, Elk and Cameron).  It will take time to cover the entire footprint, although we must complete the grant funded portion within four years.  Some planned or upcoming projects may influence that schedule, for instance a new business complex to be built or a medical clinic that needs telemedicine access.  Use the Contact Us form to tell us of need in your area.  We will also be speaking with municipalities to determine if there are ordinances or permitting and zoning requirements that must be met and the process for doing so.

It will be very important to keep the lines of communication open between CoreConnect Community Broadband all those that we must work with to complete this project and the public who will use our network.  BEAD grant funding will have many requirements for use and reporting with transparency at the top of that list.  Our website will be updated as the project progresses.

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