Those in rural communities who find themselves without sufficient internet access might see some relief following the passage of a bill that was unanimously approved Monday in the state House of Representatives.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday announced the House passage of the bill, which would establish a Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.

The bill to create the broadband authority now moves to the state Senate.

A statement from Wolf said the authority would serve as the single point of contact for parties interested in expanding high-speed internet access.

The authority would identify access to funding sources and coordinate efforts for broadband deployment, Wolf said.

“Every Pennsylvanian deserves access to the high-speed internet that broadband provides,” Wolf said. “However, in many rural communities, the infrastructure for broadband does not exist. That leaves people without internet access or service that does not meet acceptable standards.”

Wolf said the authority would help manage a minimum of $100 million in federal aid that the state will receive for the broadband rollout, which will include the construction of towers, lines and broadband equipment throughout the state.

“This represents a generational change for many rural communities to close the digital divide, improve equity and cost, and bring the opportunities that broadband provides to more homes, schools and businesses,” Wolf said.

He said internet speeds are considerably slower in rural communities compared to urban areas because local municipalities cannot afford to install broadband infrastructure.

Wolf said 800,000 state residents lack access to reliable high-speed internet, with more than 520,000 of those in rural communities.

Kevin Boozel, county commissioner, said many county residents have struggled with a lack of internet access or insufficient internet speed.Boozel knows of employees at Iron Mountain underground storage in Boyers who lost their jobs because they were unable to work at home during the coronavirus pandemic due to a lack of access to the internet.Others could not file unemployment claims and turned to Boozel, who helped many people file their claims at his office.He said students in the Moniteau, Karns City Area and Allegheny-Clarion Valley school districts overwhelm the school libraries to print out papers related to classroom assignments.One mother Boozel knows had to educate her four school-aged children at home during the pandemic shutdown, and had one computer with slow internet access.Also, the internet at her home could not accommodate multiple children working on the laptops the school district sent home with the students, Boozel said.He said one problem in rural communities is that 20 families might live on one road, but only a handful would or could afford to connect to a new line if one was installed on that road.One answer could be the installation of high-speed fiber by water and sewer utilities laying lines.The fiber would lie dormant until a resident opted to connect to it, Boozel said.“We try to find reasonable, affordable ways to make (high-speed broadband) happen,” Boozel said.He said communities such as Bruin, Eau Claire, Allegheny Township and Cherry Valley deserve access to high-speed internet connection.“Getting it run to those places is pretty difficult, but it's not impossible,” Boozel said.He predicted high-speed internet for rural communities should be achieved before the county depletes its American Rescue Plan funds.