New York Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko announced that the state’s ConnectALL office has begun implementation of its $542 million plan, which includes $287 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding.
New York’s announcement said the BEAD funds will bring high-speed internet to more than 58,600 unserved and underserved homes and businesses, mostly in rural New York. The initiative targets what officials described as the final 1% of documented locations in New York that still lack adequate broadband service.
The $542 million total breaks down into $287 million in federal BEAD funding, $7 million in New York State funding, and $248 million in private-sector matching investments. The next steps include submitting provisional awards for state and federal environmental review.
Nine providers were awarded funds. They will deploy a mix of fiber, fixed wireless, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband. The awardees are:
- Archtop Fiber LLC: $23,728,734 BEAD grant (plus a $30,057,586 provider match and a $1,000,000 state match) to serve 1,638 locations in Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, and Sullivan counties with fiber
- CBN America LLC: $121,177,268 BEAD grant (plus a $40,392,423 provider match) to serve 3,087 locations in Chenango, Delaware, Madison, Oswego, Otsego, Schuyler, and Yates counties and Shinnecock Reservation with fiber, and 18,098 locations in 29 counties and Onondaga Reservation with fixed wireless
- Citizens Telecommunications Company of New York Inc.: $13,273,290 BEAD grant (plus a $6,303,834 provider match) to serve 1,014 locations in Chenango County with fiber
- Fidium Enterprise Services Inc.: $5,454,547 BEAD grant (plus a $3,594,633 provider match) to serve 1,083 locations in Chautauqua, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties with fiber
- IBT Group USA LLC: $12,709,615 BEAD grant (plus a $4,236,538 provider match) to serve 5,478 locations in Chenango, Delaware, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, and Schoharie counties and the Oneida Indian Reservation with fixed wireless
- Reasnor Telephone Company LLC: $11,437,665 BEAD grant (plus a $3,812,555 provider match) to serve 795 locations in Dutchess County with fiber
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Starlink): $22,300,500 BEAD grant (plus a $20,426,074 provider match) to serve 14,877 locations in 37 counties and two tribal reservations with LEO satellite
- Spectrum Northeast LLC: $21,038,640 BEAD grant (plus a $4,123,251 provider match and a $6,000,000 state match) to serve 2,919 locations in Chautauqua County and Tuscarora Nation with fiber
- Verizon New York Inc.: $56,120,006 BEAD grant (plus a $135,241,523 provider match) to serve 4,016 locations in Albany, Clinton, Erie, Essex, Fulton, Montgomery, Oneida, Oswego, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster, and Washington counties and the Tonawanda Reservation with fiber
“Closing the digital divide means ensuring that reliable, high-speed access reaches every household in the state — and that it remains affordable when it gets there,” Governor Hochul said in the announcement.
The BEAD rollout is paired with New York’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), which the state says is the nation’s first law guaranteeing low-cost internet options. The ABA requires broadband providers to offer qualifying low-income households broadband at $15 per month for 25 Mbps service or $20 per month for 200 Mbps service.
ConnectALL says it has reached more than 650,000 New Yorkers with information about these options, and more than 72,000 have followed up for more details.
