Submitted photo
Black Bear Fiber trucks are a common sight locally as fiber optic cables are being installed.

BELLEVILLE — It might be called Big Valley, but it’s been nothing but a big gap as far as David Gibbons is concerned when it comes to high-speed Internet.

Residents in State College and Harrisburg have plenty of options as far as Internet connectivity are concerned. Options for residents in Belleville, Reedsville and Allensville? Not so much.

Gibbons and his partner, Laura, are working to help bring Internet connectivity to unserved or underserved areas, such as the Big Valley.

“At Black Bear Fiber, we believe Pennsylvanians deserve access to high-speed Internet and cutting-edge technology to power their work, education and entertainment,” said Gibbons, who serves as CEO and founder of Black Bear Fiber. “We’re getting fiber into Belleville and eventually other areas of Mifflin and Juniata counties.”

The Gibbons’ first began working on rural internet access in 2015. Centre WISP launched in 2019 to bring Internet connectivity to unserved or underserved areas of the state. Centre WISP quickly became known for its fast speeds, limitless data usage and reliable customer service.

In 2021, the Gibbons’ saw an opportunity to bring an even better connectivity to the state by building a network built on the fastest, most-reliable Internet technology in the world: fiber optic cables.

Fiber Internet offers faster speeds, more reliability and enough bandwidth to ensure a smooth connection on every device. With the goal of bringing that cutting-edge technology to central Pennsylvania, Black Bear Fiber was born.

Black Bear Fiber currently services customers in Centre County, including State College and Bellefonte, but has been working over the past three years to bring fiber to Belleville.

“When you have to build everything brand new, it takes time,” Gibbons explained. “Especially when you’re going Belleville to Reedsville or Belleville to Allensville.

“Some roads don’t have telephone poles, so you have to bury the fiber underground,” he added. “It just adds an extra step.”

Of course, the more steps in the construction process, the more time it takes until Black Bear Fiber is able to provide service to its customers.

“This has been ongoing for several years,” Gibbons said. “All of downtown Belleville is serviceable today. Over the next few years, we will go out to Allensville then work our way to the other side and back up the road to Allensville and Reedsville.”

They also plan to offer service in Western and Central Juniata County.

Gibbons said his technicians are often asked what their trucks are working on along the roads in the Big Valley.

“The community has been welcoming and very interested in service,” he said. “Once we get in front of a home, connecting them to the next generation of service is something we greatly enjoy.

“We’re not only building a network but servicing the customers, and helping those customers is the best part of the job,” he added.

Gibbons said the network has been constructed using a combination of privately invested funds and a $10 million grant from the Federal Communication Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

Black Bear Fiber offers Internet and telephone services, along with streaming for televisions.