ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — More than $140 million is coming to New York to expand broadband. The money should supply high-speed internet to over 60,000 households and businesses through the ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program.
Awards include $29.9 million for Jamestown, $11 million for Orleans County, $30 million for Schoharie County, $26 million for Central New York, $13.1 million for Franklin County, and $29.9 million for Sullivan County.
- Jamestown will use an open-access fiber network to serve all 14,447 homes and businesses
- Orleans County will expand wireless to 11,000 locations, with digital literacy programs to for low-income households
- Schoharie County will build 298 miles of fiber to connect over 4,000 rural homes and businesses
- In Central New York, the CNYNET project will create a regional open-access fiber network to serve over 6,600
- Franklin County will build fiber and wireless infrastructure, connecting 1,567 locations
- Sullivan County will build 253 miles of fiber, reaching over 22,000 homes and businesses in a remote, mountainous area
Part of a broader, $1 billion ConnectALL Initiative, the project will build over 1,200 miles of broadband infrastructure in rural New York, where residents struggle with access. Paid for mostly through the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund and the American Rescue Plan, the program prioritizes affordability and reliability, they said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the funds for open-access fiber, wireless hubs, and public-private partnerships to keep networks publicly owned or publicly controlled. They also announced an interactive ConnectALL dashboard that transparently tracks the progress of the state’s broadband projects.
ConnectALL works to install reliable internet access statewide, supporting education, healthcare, jobs, and economic development. Since launching in 2022, ConnectALL expanded broadband infrastructure to over 87,000 homes and businesses in New York, according to Schumer and Hochul.