Verizon is fully underwriting an ongoing, three-year project to upgrade the fiber broadband network in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The carrier was one of four vendors who responded to a request for qualifications (RFQ) last October. The agreement stipulates that all costs associated with the fiber project be paid for by the carrier.
Verizon also agreed to participate in Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) successor programs or offer a low-cost program through its Fios Forward program. (The ACP was eliminated earlier this year.)
The city council approved the plan for the Verizon fiber network last month. The city of Scranton has about 80,000 residents and is the sixth largest municipality in the commonwealth.
“Verizon is proud to be investing in the City of Scranton,” Chris Flood, Verizon’s Atlantic North Market President, said in the announcement. “Wider availability of our best-in-class Fios internet will ensure that every resident has the opportunity to be connected whether it be for school, work or play.”
The Times-Tribune in Scranton reported that the other applicants were Gigapower, Loop, and Empire, and that the new network will offer 1 Gbps broadband access.
The announcement did not indicate whether Verizon is getting any federal funding for the fiber network. Last month, Reviews.org found that the commonwealth was among those receiving the least funding per resident among the states, at $89. Massachusetts ($21) and Alaska ($1,387) were found to be receiving the least and most, respectively.
While the Scranton project is well within Verizon’s traditional footprint, it is worth noting — as the carrier did at a financial analysts’ presentation this week — that Verizon is seeking to gain a foothold for its fiber network in the upper midwest, Texas, and California through its acquisition of Frontier.
