Verizon announced a public-private partnership with Onondaga County, New York that will have the company building an $18 million all-fiber network throughout the county.
Verizon will contribute $7 million to the public-private partnership, with the county chipping in $11 million, with funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The network will initially reach 1,500 locations.
Verizon has not been as active with the public-private partnership model as some of its large national carrier cohorts like Charter and AT&T. Although the company does point to building fiber in rural upstate New York in partnership with the state and the FCC, which has made fiber available to 48K residents.
“Onondaga County is proud of this initiative and pleased to help deliver this vital service to our rural residents,” County Executive Ryan McMahon said in a press release. “Verizon’s choice to partner with us and invest in the County is another indicator of the resurgence that is occurring here.”
Verizon also celebrated the support the company received for this public-private partnership from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union.
“On behalf of our members, we are pleased to offer our endorsement of Verizon’s bid to work with Onondaga County and build a state-of-the-art fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to unserved and underserved locations in the County,” said Dennis G. Trainor Vice President, CWA District 1.
The company intends to leverage supplier relationships to meet the goals set by Onondaga County related to Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE).
Larger carriers are increasingly turning to the public-private partnership model to expand their broadband footprints to rural markets. Expect them to be quite active with upcoming funding programs including BEAD and the Capital Projects Fund.
Commenting on the PPP opportunity, Anthony Lewis, Vice President of State Government Affairs for Verizon said, “We look forward to similar opportunities in other communities as they arise.”
