Mission
The Northwest Commission is engaged in systematically evaluating and responding to the technology needs of the region. Short-term programs seek to educate consumers, businesses, and community leaders about technology; aggregate demand for data, video, and voice services in underserved communities, and; promote local, state, and federal programs for expansion of existing service. Long-term programs are oriented toward developing affordable and comprehensive access to technologies that will drive sustainable economic development, business attraction and retention, and innovative community development.

Technology Advisory Group
The Northwest Commission’s Technology Advisory Group (TAG) is a group of volunteers whose mission is to advocate regional technology initiatives in northwest Pennsylvania by partnering with technology and economic development entities/businesses to stimulate regional economic conditions for the twenty-first century.

TAG is a group of volunteers made up of local elected officials, private business, economic development, education, electric cooperatives, planning agencies, and utilities. TAG meets on a bi-monthly basis and discusses broadband projects in the region and state. If you would like to be a member of TAG, please contact
W. Randy Rice (x101).

Broadband Aggregation and Deployment
Pennsylvania’s telecommunications law (Act 183) created an aggregation program called the Bona Fide Retail Request (BFRR) program. This program will allow communities to aggregate potential broadband customers and offer that aggregated demand to the telephone companies.

The BFRR program provides that if a "community" is able to collect a certain number of "petitions" the phone company is then required to install DSL service within 365 days. The number of petitions required is a total of fifty or twenty-five percent of the residential customers within the community, whichever is less.

For a complete guide to the BFRR program, please click here.

The Northwest Commission will work with community leaders and other “sparkplugs” to obtain Customer Service Area (CSA) maps for their community, assist with printing and mailing customer forms, organize community meetings to talk about broadband and the BFRR program, and help promote the project. We will also act as a liaison with the telephone companies and other broadband providers as well as work with the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) who oversees this program at a state level.

With the assistance of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) the Commission has developed an page on this website dedicated specifically to the BFRR program. Information on this page includes access to provider-specific BFRR forms, links to an interactive BFRR/CSA area map, and frequently asked questions about the BFRR program. Please click here, or the link below, to access the BFRR page.