CLEARFIELD – The lack of reliable phone and internet service continues to plague Boggs Township.
Tuesday Larry Lumadue of West Decatur spoke with Clearfield County Commissioners Dave Glass and John Sobel during the county’s regular board meeting.
Lumadue also spoke at county meetings in February and March and has become a regular at Boggs Township meetings, as he seeks to help resolve this issue for his community.
“There’s been no change in our service,” he said, and poor line maintenance on the part of Verizon. “There are still a lot of trees over the lines and lines lying on the ground.”
We had another outage—our landline—about a week ago. It was out for five days, then shortly after, our internet went out for two days, Lumadue said.
A lot of people were affected, according to Lumadue, especially those whose work relies upon internet service. The outage sent one person to DuBois and another to a local library to complete work.
He said Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband), which provides high-speed broadband internet, has contacted Boggs Township for a list of residents interested in internet service.
Breezeline was provided the requested information but there’s been no action, he said, and Verizon continues to be unreliable and has been a no-show for two township meetings.
Several residents have filed complaints with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which Lumadue did indicate “checks” on their service issues but said “there’s still not enough being done.”
Prior to his attendance at Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting, he tested his internet speed. He recorded a download speed of .86 and an upload speed of .32.
Glass assured Lumadue that the county was aware of the issues and also has been in contact with Breezeline, as it works to capitalize on a state grant opportunity.
That’s probably “part of the reason” you haven’t heard from Breezeline, he said, explaining it’s not only trying to find ways it could potentially serve that area but others in the county as well.
“Your area—that Boggs Township area—is very important to us,” Glass said, “and it’s probably one of our top-priority areas, if not our top-priority area.”
As the county prepares its grant application ahead of the July 10 deadline, he said it will continue discussions with Breezeline and other internet service providers.
“Your speeds—we don’t even consider that served. It’s unserved or at the very least underserved so you’re eligible for service as part of this grant.
“Don’t go spending a lot of money, just show a little bit of patience,” Glass said, reminding it is a grant though and there are no guarantees, and even if received, it will still take time.
So far as the ongoing issues with Verizon, Glass suggested and the board authorized a letter to express dissatisfaction with its line maintenance.
“It has been throwing up its hands,” he said, “and it’s ridiculous.”