The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed disparities across Pennsylvania with the use of remote learning. About 35,000 households in the state are estimated to lack access to high-speed internet, with another 350,000 under-connected Pennsylvanians. Datacasting offers a way to help bridge the digital divide.

While broadcasting refers to sending programming “over-the-air” across a geographic region that can be received by an antenna and played on a television, datacasting refers to using those same broadcasting signals to transmit educational data to be used on a computer. By supplying families with a small, inexpensive antenna and receiver, students will be able to download educational resources that are transmitted over the air waves without the need to connect to the internet.