Pennsylvania’s Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) says it’s making steady inroads in expanding affordable fiber access throughout rural Bradford and Wyoming Counties, where many frustrated locals have been stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide for the better part of a generation.
Not long ago, Claverack joined a growing roster of electric cooperatives that are extending into broadband access, often leveraging the experience and expertise that informed their efforts at rural electrification almost a century earlier. According to Claverack officials, they recently passed a notable milestone: the cooperative just wrapped up a project that delivered 100 miles of new fiber-optic cable to pass roughly 1,300 previously-unserved and underserved homes and businesses in rural Bradford and Wyoming counties.
“We were proud to share this milestone with the people who made it possible,” Steve Allabaugh, Claverack REC president and CEO, said of the project. “Years of planning, investment, and collaboration brought us to this moment.”
The Wysox, Pennsylvania-based cooperative currently services a 2,250‐square‐mile territory across eight counties in Northeastern Pa. (Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties), maintaining more than 2,800 miles of electrical power lines and delivering electricity service to over 19,000 paying members.
In 2020, the cooperative began formulating a plan to leverage federal grant assistance to expand into broadband access under Claverack Communications LLC. In 2022 they unveiled their new ISP arm under the brand name Revolution Broadband.
Revolution currently offers three tiers of broadband access: a symmetrical 100 megabit per second (Mbps) tier for $70 a month; a symmetrical 500 Mbps tier for $90 a month; and a symmetrical 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) offering for $120 a month.
All tiers come with no hidden fees, overage caps, or long-term contracts, and are dramatically faster and less expensive than anything offered by the dominant regional telecom duopoly, Frontier Communications and Comcast. The lack of competition generally results in high prices, spotty access, and substandard customer service.
Claverack’s expansion was made possible by a $4.7 million grant, in turn made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The grant was awarded to the cooperative by the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority in 2024.
Claverack REC officials say the Revolution Broadband fiber‑to‑the‑home network continues to grow rapidly across Bradford, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties. Recent funding awards — including the CPF‑BIP grant — have enabled the cooperative to expand service into communities it says did not appear on early versions of its broadband availability map.
“We know that some members checked our availability map early on and thought we weren’t coming to their area,” said Kyle Lane, Director of Broadband Operations. “At that time, the CPF‑BIP project zones weren’t yet included. With the new funding and the completion of construction, many additional locations have now been added. We strongly encourage residents to check again — you may now be within reach of our expanding fiber network.”
Potential customers in Revolution’s target areas can verify service eligibility by selecting the “Register Your Interest” button at RevolutionBroadband.net and entering their physical address.
The cooperative says it updates its coverage map regularly as new service areas go live.
Inline image of Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative at dusk courtesy of Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative Facebook page
Inline image of Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative truck courtesy of Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative Facebook page
