Gov. Kathy Hochul announced earlier this month more than $636 million in broadband projects intended to deliver universal internet access to nearly all unserved and underserved locations across New York State.
About $391 million in proposed awards come from the ConnectALL Deployment Program, while 11 internet service providers have committed more than $245 million in matching funds. The ConnectALL Program, which is funded through the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, awards grants to build “last-mile” broadband infrastructure and communications equipment to reach underserved locations in New York. Congress allocated $644.6 million to the state in 2023 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) through the BEAD program.
If the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approves the awards, the projects are estimated to reach nearly 54,000 locations from Long Island to Western New York. The projects would serve the final 1% of locations in the state that either lack broadband service entirely or do not yet have an enforceable service commitment under any other grant program. Of those, about 31% would receive fiber-optic infrastructure, approximately 44% would be served via fixed-wireless technology and the remaining 25% would rely on satellite capacity.
Awards include:
- $78,640,161 for Archtop Fiber, LLC with a $28,211,318 match to serve 2,511 locations in five counties with fiber-optic technology.
- $121,187,012 for CBN Geneva, LLC with a $40,301,358 match to serve 3,951 locations in seven counties and Onondaga Reservation with fixed-wireless technology.
- $13,273,290 for Citizens Telecommunications of New York, Inc. with a $6,303,834 match to serve 1,014 locations in Chenango County with fiber-optic technology.
- $11,498,589 to Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC with a $5,033,776 match to serve 390 locations in Putnam County with fiber-optic technology.
- $5,454,547 for Consolidated Communications Enterprise Services, Inc. with a $3,594,633 match to serve 1,083 locations in three counties with fiber-optic technology.
- $25,489,512 for IBT Group USA, LLC with a $4,272,763 match to serve 1,159 locations in two counties and the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation with fiber-optic technology and 10,660 locations in nine counties and the Oneida Indian Reservation using fixed-wireless technology.
- $360,000 for Planet Fiber NY, LLC with a $120,000 match to serve 16 locations in Orange County with fiber-optic technology.
- $23,232,915 for Reasnor Telephone Company, LLC with a $7,744,305 match to serve 904 locations in Dutchess County with fiber-optic technology.
- $20,422,500 for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. with a $18,704,831 match to serve 13,615 locations in 37 counties and three tribal reservations with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology.
- $27,038,640 for Spectrum Northeast, LLC with a $4,123,250 match to serve 2,919 locations in Chautauqua County and Tuscarora Nation with fiber-optic technology.
- $64,500,823 for Verizon New York, Inc. with a $126,581,092 match to serve 4,017 locations in 13 counties and the Tonawanda Reservation with fiber-optic technology.
These projects come in the wake of many other related programs to increase broadband access in New York. The Municipal Infrastructure Program has committed over $242 million from the American Rescue Plan to build open-access broadband networks. The program uses public, non-profit and public-private partnership (P3) models to deliver affordable, high-quality internet service options. The Digital Equity Program is putting $50 million toward internet accessibility, and the Affordable Housing Connectivity Program will use $100 million in federal investments to build or upgrade broadband infrastructure in affordable and public housing across New York, connecting 100,000 low-income housing units to high-speed internet.
Expanding broadband access has long been a declared priority for New York through laws like the Affordable Broadband Act and sustained investment in programs like ConnectALL. A 2025 report from BroadbandNow finds 98.3% of residents have access to broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps or more, ranking New York fourth among all states in that metric.
Pending approval from the NTIA, these initiatives are set to further reduce the percentage of unserved and underserved locations in New York State.
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