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New York Awards $212 Million to 26 Telecom Companies for Rural Broadband Expansion

Phillip Dampier March 6, 2017 Broadband Speed, Consumer News, Data Caps, Public Policy & Gov't, Rural Broadband 7 Comments

New York State taxpayers will contribute $212 million to expand broadband to reach 89,514 homes and institutions in mostly in rural upstate communities that either lack internet access or have to endure very slow speed DSL service from the phone company. All recipients have agreed, as a condition of receiving the money, not to impose data caps on their customers.

This week, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the latest winning projects that will receive grants from a second round of funding from the New NY Broadband Program, part of the governor’s effort to achieve 100% broadband penetration in the Empire State.

Gov. Cuomo

Twenty six cable and phone companies, mostly for-profit businesses, will share awards ranging from $226,184 for Cable Communications of Willsboro to reach 558 homes in the Essex County communities of Willsboro and Essex, on the border of Lake Champlain and the state of Vermont to $47,770,970 for Armstrong Telecommunications to reach 16,545 homes in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Erie, Livingston, Steuben, and Wyoming counties in the Finger Lakes Region and Southern Tier.

“Broadband is today what electricity was nearly a century ago – essential to creating economic opportunity, driving innovation and an absolute necessity for our way of life,” Governor Cuomo said. “These awards will provide homes and businesses with access to the high-speed internet required to participate and succeed in the modern economy, and are a major step toward broadband for all in New York.”

Grant recipients provided $56,253,037 in private matching funds, with New York taxpayers picking up the remaining 75% of the total expansion cost — about $2,366 per home or business.

A separate agreement with the New York State Public Service Commission obligates Charter Communications (formerly Time Warner Cable) to embark on its own company-funded expansion program to expand service to approximately 145,000 unserved and underserved premises. Charter has identified Columbia, Erie, Jefferson, Onondaga, Oswego, and Sullivan as “Year One Priority Counties” where most upgrades will be taking place in 2017, including expansion to reach 100Mbps speeds during the first six months of this year.

The winning providers had to guarantee they would upgrade speeds to at least 100Mbps except in the “most remote areas” where 25Mbps is acceptable. Although the state targeted 50% private sector co-investment, providers ultimately came closer to the absolute minimum of 20% in matching funds. They must also guarantee that broadband service will be available to customers for no more than $60 a month to qualify for the grant. Cable Communications of Willsboro, for example, now offers 8/1Mbps for $59.95 a month. Presumably it will have to boost speeds as part of its grant award.

The grant program was also designed to favor applicants offering fiber-to-the-home or hybrid fiber/cable (HFC) technology currently favored by cable operators. DSL and fixed wireless applicants had to give evidence the governor’s need for speed would be delivered using those technologies. All applicants must also agree not to impose data caps of any kind for New York residents.

New York is a rare exception to rural broadband expansion in states that mostly rely on politicians begging and pleading with providers to expand their service areas. At best, this has delivered modest results without access to supplemental funding to achieve Return On Investment requirements private companies demand.

As New York progresses through multiple rounds of bidding, each new round becomes more challenging because of the increasing expense to reach each remaining unwired rural home, business, and farm. In the current round, the costs to wire a single home are at least four times more than what Verizon spent to extend its FiOS service to a new home or business in downstate New York.

To meet 100% penetration, some properties will require a $20,000 or more investment to extend service. Gov. Cuomo has decided that broadband should be treated as a necessary utility, not a convenience. In effect, New York wants universal service standards to be applied to broadband, regardless of cost.

All projects must be finished by the end of 2018. The Broadband Program Office is currently finalizing a Request for Proposals for the Program’s upcoming Round III, which will launch within 30 days. This round will seek to complete the goal of bringing high-speed internet access to New York’s remaining unserved and underserved communities. Round III will be paid for by the $170 million in Connect America Funds Verizon forfeit because of their lack of interest in expanding rural broadband service. New York officials successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate those funds to the state to disburse to reach the remaining rural areas still without suitable internet access.

Phase 2 Awardees

Awardee Projects Census Blocks Total Units State Grant Total Private Match Total Project Cost
TOTALS
54
10,378
89,514
$211,798,593
$56,253,037
$268,051,631
Altice 1 25 346 $867,281 $216,821 $1,084,102
Armstrong Telecommunications 4 1,678 16,545 $47,770,970 $12,472,577 $60,243,547
Cable Communications of Willsboro 1 11 558 $226,184 $56,546 $282,730
Castle Cable TV Television, Inc. 1 14 129 $632,559 $158,140 $790,699
Champlain Telephone Company 1 58 334 $1,362,901 $340,726 $1,703,627
Chazy and Westport Telephone Corporation 2 222 530 $2,821,185 $705,297 $3,526,482
Citizens of Hammond 1 40 382 $1,395,688 $348,923 $1,744,611
Delhi Telephone Company 1 284 818 $3,392,373 $848,094 $4,240,467
DFT Local Service Corporation 1 212 973 $4,274,536 $1,068,634 $5,343,170
DTC Cable Inc. 1 413 1,524 $4,432,209 $1,899,518 $6,331,727
Empire Telephone Corporation 3 277 1,692 $3,236,891 $809,226 $4,046,117
Fairpoint 3 2,015 10,321 $36,668,472 $9,301,930 $45,970,402
Frontier Communications 11 1,189 12,003 $29,901,354 $7,475,354 $37,376,708
Gtel Teleconnections 2 442 2,450 $5,259,217 $1,314,806 $6,574,023
Haefele TV Inc. 2 386 3,407 $5,022,332 $1,255,751 $6,278,083
Mid-Hudson Data Corp. 1 449 18,771 $849,818 $212,455 $1,062,273
Middleburgh Telephone Company (MIDTEL) 1 228 1,599 $6,831,856 $1,707,964 $8,539,820
Mohawk Networks, LLC 1 754 3,623 $6,391,157 $1,597,792 $7,988,949
MTC Cable 4 183 2,982 $6,529,775 $2,391,035 $8,920,810
New Visions Communications 1 266 3,906 $11,310,921 $2,827,731 $14,138,652
Newport Telephone Company 1 255 1,919 $9,348,940 $2,337,237 $11,686,177
Oneida County Rural Telephone 1 210 588 $3,285,885 $821,474 $4,107,359
Otsego Electric Cooperative 2 122 714 $3,935,949 $1,145,065 $5,081,014
Pattersonville Telephone Company 1 93 170 $1,188,748 $297,187 $1,485,936
Slic Network Solutions 2 121 891 $3,746,744 $937,871 $4,684,615
TDS Telecom 4 431 2,339 $11,114,648 $3,704,883 $14,819,531

Interested in Learning If Broadband is Expanding in Your Area? A complete list of community expansion projects follows:

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Capital Region

Albany
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Ravena (Village) $53,241.00 $65,856.00 1176
Coeymans $13,356.00 $16,520.00 295
Westerlo $2,626.00 $3,248.00 58
Rensselearville $1,041.00 $1,288.00 23
Columbia
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Copake $4,241,198.00 $5,301,237.00 1353
New Lebanon $2,718,608.00 $3,398,093.00 868
Chatham (Town) $2,564,621.00 $3,205,590.00 891
Chatham (Village) $2,558,734.00 $3,198,261.00 814
Livingston $2,338,091.00 $2,922,424.00 1278
Ghent $1,931,710.00 $2,414,486.00 687
Ancram $1,784,499.00 $2,230,510.00 579
Taghkanic $1,565,107.00 $1,956,249.00 731
Gallatin $1,515,300.00 $1,893,999.00 768
Hillsdale $1,447,444.00 $1,809,205.00 490
Canaan $1,422,701.00 $1,778,285.00 465
Greene
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Lexington $1,384,192.00 $1,729,914.00 401
Jewett $897,481.00 $1,121,640.00 260
Halcott $225,833.00 $322,554.00 80
Catskill (Village) $95,345.00 $117,936.00 2106
Cairo $69,901.00 $86,464.00 1544
Rensselaer
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Stephentown $4,626,084.00 $5,782,294.00 1543
Berlin $1,485,762.00 $1,857,095.00 515
East Nassau (Village) $568,924.00 $711,107.00 213
Petersburgh $348,239.00 $435,278.00 111
Nassau $219,414.00 $274,247.00 87
Saratoga
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Hadley $379,127.00 $473,800.00 200
Schenectady
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Princetown $321,661.00 $402,040.00 46
Duanesburg $300,683.00 $375,820.00 43
Rotterdam $118,875.00 $148,580.00 17
Warren
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Johnsburg $1,177,190.00 $1,471,149.00 621
Stony Creek $642,620.00 $803,091.00 339

Round II Awards in the Capital Region:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Fairpoint 2 Projects $27,157,161.00
Frontier Communications 2 Projects $2,637,923.00
Gtel Teleconnections 2 Projects $5,259,217.00
Mid-Hudson Data Corp. 1 Project $849,818.00
MTC Cable 3 Projects $2,507,505.00
Pattersonville Telephone Company 1 Project $741,220.00

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Mohawk Valley

Fulton
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Ephratah $778,427 $972,840 220
Bleecker $682,893 $853,446 193
Oppenheim $584,222 $730,122 182
Johnstown $24,768 $30,954 7
Herkimer
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Ohio $3,468,705 $4,335,368 712
Norway $1,958,454 $2,447,778 402
Russia $1,797,686 $2,246,841 369
Webb $590,877 $738,450 169
Fairfield $365,383 $456,675 75
Montgomery
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Charleston $1,026,109 $1,282,380 290
Glen $803,195 $1,003,794 227
Minden $707,661 $884,400 200
Florida $447,529 $559,360 64
St Johnsville $63,690 $79,596 18
Oneida
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Steuben $1,947,919 $2,434,684 425
Western $1,189,703 $1,487,065 217
Floyd $469,412 $586,740 84
Remsen $275,988 $344,916 78
Boonville $197,574 $246,960 112
Otsego
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Pittsfield $756,185 $975,228 156
Butternuts $665,201 $831,336 188
Edmeston $496,018 $627,530 126
Richfield $488,874 $631,476 81
Plainfield $409,343 $527,088 78
Schoharie
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Broome $1,200,595 $1,500,540 281
Middleburgh $1,183,505 $1,479,180 277
Summit $1,153,597 $1,441,800 270
Fulton $922,877 $1,153,440 216
Gilboa $701,638 $932,773 197

Round II Awards in the Mohawk Valley:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Frontier Communications 2 Projects $7,801,418
Middleburgh Telephone Company (MIDTEL) 1 Project $6,831,856
Mohawk Networks, LLC 1 Project $395,147
MTC Cable 2 Projects $796,861
Newport Telephone Company, Inc. 1 Project $8,101,765
Oneida County Rural Telephone 1 Project $3,285,885
Otsego Electric Cooperative 2 Projects $3,621,561
Pattersonville Telephone Company 1 Project $447,528

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Mid-Hudson Region

Dutchess
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Pine Plains $202,781.00 $253,463.00 68
Northeast $32,958.00 $41,194.00 13
Sullivan
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Highland $406,400.00 $507,951.00 81
Rockland $63,851.00 $91,203.00 21
Trusten $30,104.00 $37,626.00 6
Ulster
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Hardenburgh $373,983.00 $534,189.00 123
Shandaken $173,309.00 $247,551.00 57

Round II Awards in the Mid-Hudson Region:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
FairPoint 2 Projects $235,739.00
Frontier Communications 1 Project $436,504.00
Gtel Teleconnections 1 Project At no state cost
MTC Cable 1 Project $611,143.00

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Finger Lakes

Livingston
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Nunda $786,170 $982,528 202
Portage $455,356 $569,088 117
Ossian $323,030 $403,712 83
West Sparta $54,487 $68,096 14
North Dansville $31,135 $38,912 8
Seneca
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Lodi $376,270 $470,255 163
Ovid $53,093 $66,355 23
Wayne
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Savannah $524,917 $699,825 75
Butler $174,972 $233,275 25
Wyoming
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Pike $350,274 $437,760 90
Orangeville $263,904 $329,875 65
Wethersfield $207,063 $258,825 51
Genesee Falls $105,082 $131,328 27
Eagle $105,082 $131,328 27
Yates
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Potter $1,169,297 $1,461,600 288
Barrington $925,693 $1,157,100 228
Italy $357,803 $447,175 155
Middlesex $142,102 $177,625 35
Jerusalem $18,467 $23,080 8

Round II Awards in the Finger Lakes:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Armstrong Telecommunications 1 Project $2,210,617.00
Empire Telephone Corporation 1 Project $805,633.00
Frontier Communications 1 Project $2,842,042.00
TDS Telecom 1 Project $699,890.00

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout as Part of Round II – North Country

Clinton
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Altona $968,318 $1,210,264 226
Mooers $750,820 $938,400 184
Black Brook $709,484 $886,443 443
Ausable $341,129 $426,213 213
Chazy $324,675 $405,811 67
Essex
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Jay $1,880,212 $2,349,174 1,174
Westport $1,280,268 $1,600,155 233
Wilmington $1,106,667 $1,382,691 691
Keene $771,994 $964,620 466
Essex $468,953 $586,019 235
Hamilton
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Morehouse $1,247,175 $1,558,784 256
Indian Lake $1,101,862 $1,376,688 871
Arietta $1,050,613 $1,312,656 656
Lake Pleasant $323,512 $404,202 202
Long Lake $302,692 $378,189 226
Jefferson
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Cape Vincent $1,316,742 $1,755,578 199
Lyme $780,782 $1,040,996 118
Brownville $628,596 $838,090 95
Alexandria $414,206 $517,722 86
Clayton $291,139 $388,168 44
Lewis
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Croghan $657,991 $822,465 373
Watson $650,935 $813,645 369
West Turin $550,384 $687,960 312
Lyonsdale $525,687 $657,090 298
Montague $455,125 $568,890 258
St. Lawrence
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Russell $1,622,510 $2,163,252 273
Stockholm $1,000,916 $1,251,536 143
Hermon $956,865 $1,275,764 161
Lawrence $881,926 $1,102,752 126
Macomb $851,297 $1,064,111 233

Round II Awards in the North Country:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Cable Communications of Willsboro 1 Project
$226,184
Castle Cable TV Television, Inc. 1 Project
$632,559
Champlain Telephone Company 1 Project
$1,362,901
Chazy and Westport Telephone 2 Projects
$2,821,185
Citizens of Hammond 1 Project
$1,395,688
Frontier Communications 2 Projects
$7,304,640
Mohawk Networks LLC 1 Project
$5,996,010
Newport Telephone Company 1 Project
$1,247,175
Slic Network Solutions 2 Projects
$3,746,744
TDS Telecom 2 Projects
$6,780,688

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Central New York

Cayuga
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Locke $2,189,211 $2,735,964 756
Moravia (Village) $2,067,588 $2,583,966 714
Genoa $1,818,551 $2,272,732 628
Moravia (Town) $1,786,697 $2,232,923 617
Victory $1,701,715 $2,126,706 494
Cortland
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Taylor $602,295 $752,712 158
Willet $434,567 $543,096 114
Virgil $401,890 $502,169 295
Lapeer $400,259 $500,220 105
Harford $343,609 $429,457 182
Madison
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Georgetown $426,943 $533,568 112
Brookfield $400,995 $509,872 98
Lebanon $293,524 $366,828 77
Oswego
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Boylston $907,255 $1,133,832 238
Redfield $514,619 $643,140 135

Round II Awards in Central New York:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Frontier Communications 3 Projects $5,604,006
Haefele TV Inc. 2 Projects $525,320
New Visions Communications 1 Project $11,310,921
Otsego Electric Cooperative 1 Project $220,541
TDS Telecom 1 Project $615,903

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Southern Tier

Broome
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Windsor (Village) $1,372,669 $1,830,087 483
Windsor (Town) $622,390 $829,791 219
Colesville $531,447 $708,543 187
Sanford $152,812 $212,862 53
Fenton $42,629 $56,835 15
Chemung
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Van Etten $407,664 $509,494 224
Chenango
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
German $499,371 $624,084 131
Pitcher $449,815 $562,152 118
Afton $299,874 $417,781 104
Coventry $187,570 $250,074 66
Guilford $137,994 $172,458 39
Delaware
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Clochester $1,486,800 $2,123,217 1,344
Tompkins $1,427,962 $2,039,614 491
Hamden $1,200,197 $1,501,012 290
Delhi $1,148,762 $1,435,691 277
Marsonville $1,002,625 $1,429,115 345
Schuyler
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Orange $245,742 $307,095 155
Hector $241,470 $301,760 167
Reading $201,118 $251,293 155
Montour $180,894 $226,100 95
Catharine $96,733 $120,888 66
Steuben
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Troupsburg $3,883,558 $5,009,607 488
Tuscarora $2,921,874 $3,769,434 366
Woodhull $2,757,622 $3,550,321 369
Rathbone $2,080,042 $2,677,761 279
Greenwood $1,957,641 $2,446,592 503
Jasper $1,039,146 $1,298,688 267
Prattsburg $1,022,527 $1,278,060 537
Tioga
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Candor $1,030,088 $1,287,336 582
Tioga $755,279 $943,754 538
Barton $577,112 $721,248 300
Spencer $532,983 $666,009 381
Richford $313,584 $391,885 179
Tompkins
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Enfield $348,280 $435,107 325
Caroline $245,569 $306,895 140
Danby $40,049 $50,058 18

Round II Awards in the Southern Tier:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Armstrong Telecommunications 2 Projects $16,301,221
Delhi Telephone Company 1 Project $3,392,373
DTC Cable 1 Project $4,432,209
Empire Telephone Corp. 2 Projects $2,431,258
Frontier Communications 4 Projects $2,046,178
Haefele TV Inc. 2 Projects $4,497,012
MTC Cable 3 Projects $2,614,266
Otsego Electric Cooperative 1 Project $93,847
TDS Telecom 1 Project $3,018,167

Top Towns Benefitting From Broadband Buildout – Western New York

Allegany
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Rushford $3,989,230 $4,985,600 1,025
Centerville $1,596,211 $1,994,940 445
Hume $893,928 $1,117,203 232
Independence $881,274 $1,131,639 131
Andover $872,331 $1,090,249 251
Cattaraugus
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Salamanca (City) $3,288,461 $4,108,986 3,184
Ashford $2,771,036 $3,462,885 1,005
Great Valley $1,641,058 $2,050,587 1,361
Randolph $1,179,536 $1,474,032 428
Conewango $1,171,268 $1,463,700 425
Cold Spring $1,147,721 $1,434,258 478
Napoli $1,056,444 $1,320,186 470
Chautauqua
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Chautauqua $2,141,728 $2,708,032 272
Ripley $2,118,106 $2,678,164 269
Arkwright $1,621,073 $2,026,179 369
Sherman $1,346,454 $1,702,476 171
Westfield $1,251,966 $1,583,004 159
Mina $1,141,730 $1,443,620 145
Erie
Town State Grants Total Investment Number of Units
Concord $66,142 $82,656 24

Round II Awards in Western New York:

COMPANY PROJECT TOTAL STATE INVESTMENT
Armstrong Telecommunications 4 Projects $29,259,132
DFT Local Service Corp. 1 Project $4,274,536
Fairpoint 1 Project $9,275,572
Frontier Communications 1 Project $1,228,643
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Matthew H Mosher
Matthew H Mosher
7 years ago

I live in the north country section , Malone, in Franklin County. Zilch for me through two rounds of this SUPER DUPER NEW NEW NEW YORK broadband program. I was told by a rep from Mohawk Networks would be available in Nov or Dec of 2016

Didn’t happen. Curious considering there’s a small very well politically-entrenched start up locally that offers slow speeds at OUTRAGEOUS prices. Mohawk Network would be a direct threat to them.

This entire broadband issue in our country is one massive fleecing.

Yuji Saeki
Yuji Saeki
7 years ago

I live around Afton but not in it. My area is specifically excluded. Nice little circle around my town…which has a lengthy contract with TWC.

Required
Required
7 years ago

Hey New York… Give me the $20,000, and I promise to be happy using slow DSL for many years to come! The check for $20,000 will make me much happier than more expensive cable internet that happens to be a bit faster. I’m fine with SOME internet being a necessity, but since when did ability to stream Netflix in 4k for 16 hours/day become a human right?

Yuji Saeki
Yuji Saeki
7 years ago
Reply to  Required

Required:

Because the people deserve what they have been paying for. The people have paid for the infrastructure (which is in such disarray and is failing from lack of investment from ISPs (but sure, they can buy their ‘competition, lul’ out). The people shouldn’t have to pay some leech-in-the-middle corporation to use what they already paid for. I hope I’ve simply misunderstood your entire post, it seems to be some know-nothing about ‘basic corporate rights’. Infinite expansion, on a finite amount of resources. Meh.

Paul Houle
Paul Houle
7 years ago

I loaded these figures into Excel and divided the “Total Project Cost” by “Total Units” to get a “Cost Per Unit” and found a few interesting things. Mid-Hudson Data Corp is an outlier on the low end, at a cost of $56.59 per unit. They are using some kind of wireless, which might explain the low cost, but my guess is that they are not really going to serve all of the units the say they are because either coverage won’t be as good as they expect or capacity won’t be sufficient for everyone. I could be wrong, because they… Read more »

Sara
Sara
7 years ago

For those saying that broadband access isn’t a necessity the only internet many people where I live have access to is subject to data caps (saletellite, fixed wireless, wireless hot spots) and you pay just as much if not more than what people pay for Spectrum and Verizon. The connection is awful and the data goes rediculously fast even if you are a moderate internet user. It’s really unacceptable in 2017 especially considering I don’t even in live in a very remote area I’m in Rensselaer County. People that live less than a mile down the rd have access but… Read more »

Yuji Saeki
Yuji Saeki
7 years ago

Affordable Broadband unfortunately means “is it affordable for the Cable Companies?”

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