Lawmakers strive to protect New York’s universal broadband rollout

New York’s efforts to bring universal connectivity to the state continue to push forward with a goal of supercharging the state’s economy and addressing a variety of needs from all corners of the state, particularly in rural areas.

The hub of the state’s universal connectivity program is the ConnectALL program at Empire State Development, which has been handling the planning and implementation of the state’s goals, including administering various state and federal funding. ConnectALL is part of a myriad of agencies that is focused on addressing connectivity and digital transformation issues. ConnectALL has finished the mapping process to address communities that need broadband and now is focused on getting projects online.

“We are activating all ranges of stakeholders around the state,” Joshua Breitbart, senior vice president for ConnectALL at Empire State Development, said of the current stage of the process.

Breitbart said there is $1.3 billion in grants available for communities to build out connectivity. One of the key goals right now is gathering projects that will be seeking funding from the federal government, since the state needs to present those grant applications to the U.S. Department of Commerce by July for review and final approval.

Breitbart said the change of administration in Washington, D.C., and the current government efficiency push by President Donald Trump will not impact the process, with the funding already released to the state. “These grants will reach some of the hardest to reach parts of the state,” he said.

In the event that the Trump administration or others in Washington were to attempt to take back funding from New York or make other changes to the program. which was created under the federal infrastructure law in 2021, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has indicated she is prepared to lead the fight to preserve New York’s funding.

Gillibrand was recently appointed to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.

“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am committed to fighting for more dollars to expand broadband access and increase internet speeds for all New Yorkers. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included hundreds of millions of dollars for New York to expand broadband access and close the digital divide,” Gillibrand said. “With Republican leadership potentially looking to claw back this critical funding, rural communities throughout New York state risk being without the connectivity they need to work, learn and live in the 21st century. Internet access is imperative for all Americans to access the services they need, and I will work to ensure that federal dollars appropriated for broadband expansion are delivered.”

Gillibrand is not the only lawmaker focused on making sure New York’s program is protected. State Senate Internet and Technology Committee Chair Kristen Gonzalez said she and other lawmakers have been keeping an eye on what is going on in Washington to protect the broadband funding.

Brietbart said the investments that Gov. Kathy Hochul has made into universal connectivity and programs like the state’s Affordable Broadband Act also provide buffers to whatever might come from Washington.

A key priority last year was the final parts of the mapping process for where connectivity is needed, where Empire State Development led a process that included allowing communities to challenge any areas that the state had not included. Breitbart said the biggest challenge was rural areas of the state, including places where the more densely populated villages were well-mapped while the less populated surrounding towns had missing areas.

Breitbart noted that the process will continue to focus on very small parts of the state as grants are awarded.

“As we get closer and closer to fewer locations without service, it becomes more granular,” he said.

Moving toward universal connectivity will provide a number of benefits to the state. Breitbart cited a number of issues including economic development projects in the Southern Tier, which has a growing clean energy economy, telehealth in the North Country and the growth of the semiconductor industry in Central New York.

Breitbart stressed that the goal is to “drive change” in all communities whether urban, suburban or rural.

Business leaders stress economic growth is a key part of the need for universal connectivity. Former Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, now the president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, said that connectivity is a key thing he has heard as he talks to small businesses in Rochester and across his chamber’s region, which includes the Finger Lakes and a number of rural Western New York counties.

“The world is focused on 5G and connectivity and if a business is coming to a rural community they need the connectivity,” Duffy said.

With Rochester part of a new federally approved technology hub with Buffalo and Syracuse, Duffy said there is more of a need to bring all communities in the region together. A major part of the hub is the growth of artificial intelligence. Duffy said without more connectivity parts of the region would not be able to participate and businesses would not be able to utilize AI for their work outside of the technology hub.

Michael Romita, the president and CEO of the Westchester County Association, said it is not just rural counties that are looking at these issues but parts of Westchester County, in particular the more exurban communities in the northern part of the county. Romita said his association started seeing a need for connectivity in many communities, including parts of Yonkers, and worked with the STEM Alliance to address digital divide issues.

In northern Westchester County, Romita said many of the issues were lack of infrastructure to bring broadband to residents, while in the southern more urban part of the county it was issues related to digital literacy. Among the components of the program has been digital literacy training.

Education remains a key part of the component of the need for universal connectivity. David Little, the executive director of the Rural Schools Association of New York, said the issue was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools moved online. He said that for rural students a lack of connectivity or shaky connectivity could make it hard to learn. He said rural schools face unique challenges in staff recruitment and retention, noting a lack of school-based psychologists and social workers. “We need to do telehealth, without broadband you can’t do telehealth,” Little said.

It is not just rural education that can be impacted, Duffy noted that during his tenure as Rochester’s mayor he’d see lines of students from some of the city’s least connected neighborhoods lined up at the library to use the internet after school.

The impact even hits college student housing. Kelley Brine, the president of Rose Valley Management, a national real estate firm based in Brooklyn, has expertise in off-campus student housing. She said that in student housing, connectivity is the key service asked for by students and the lack of infrastructure would impact what could be built.

Gonzalez said an important part for her, in addition to keeping ConnectALL on track, is to focus on the implementation of the Affordable Broadband Act. The act, which mandates that internet service providers provide low-cost service to low-income households, survived a legal challenge when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case. Gonzalez said the law will help to bring internet service to households that need it the most.

Robert Gaudioso, vice president of the New York State Wireless Association’s board, said with the Supreme Court case in the rearview mirror, the next steps will be for the state Public Service Commission to grant exemptions to smaller internet service providers. He said that at least 40 will be applying for the exemptions.

“I think they should grant them where the application for financial hardship is there,” he said. “The small firms have been under a lot of pressure and losing them from the marketplace will hurt the consumer.”

Gaudioso, who noted the Wireless Association was not a part of the court case, also said small wireless internet service providers should be considered because wireless may be the only option for internet service in certain areas of the state. He noted that with the court case behind them, Vermont, Massachusetts and California are looking at adopting their own versions of the New York law.

The Northern Border Regional Commission, an agency run by the federal government and the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to handle economic development in rural regions bordering Canada, has been funding two key projects in the North Country. One project is building out five miles of fiber connectivity in the town of Tupper Lake, which sits in the middle of Adirondack Park. The second project provided a grant to the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board to conduct a study of wireless service in the Adirondack region in order to provide increased service.

Northern Border Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Chris Saunders told City & State that the joint federal-state model of the commission allows them to fund innovative economic development projects. He noted the regional planning board is working closely with Breitbart and his team.

“The regional planning board is partnering with the ConnectALL Office to gather detailed information on the availability of cell service and conduct an in-depth analysis of deployable technology options in the Adirondacks,” Saunders said. “The hoped-for end results are innovative solutions that can bring together new public and private partners to close the gaps in cellular coverage in rural New York.”

Tupper Lake Council Member John Gillis is the town’s point person on the fiber project. He said the town has been working with Slic Fiber, a North Country company, to build out the infrastructure needed to bring the town online. He said the project is currently in the planning phase to identify where infrastructure can go.

Economic development is a key component of Tupper Lake’s project. Gillis said the many remote workers have interest in locating to places in the Adirondack Park for a recreational-based lifestyle but they need internet access to work. He said another goal is to allow access to telehealth, which is a key part of health care in the region.

Beth Gilles, the director of the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board, said a key to fiber projects like Tupper Lake’s and her agency’s wireless study, is providing service to the local population and also supporting the tourism industry, which is a cornerstone of the regional economy. She said that tourists will frequently use their phones to find dining and recreational spots while in the region.

Regional planning boards have played a key role in assisting Empire State Development in developing statewide plans.

“We have great partners all over the state; we have regional collaboration all over the state,” Breitbart said of organizations like regional planning boards. “They have thought a lot about broadband deployment and also how it ties into regional economic development strategies.”

It is not just rural areas that want to make sure that every last mile is addressed. New York City Council Technology Committee Chair Jennifer Gutiérrez said she is working to make sure that there are no digital deserts in the city. She said that ConnectALL and the state programs have been helping the development of internet service. At the same time she said the city needs to do more, noting that the city’s Internet Master Plan unveiled by former Mayor Bill deBlasio is not on Mayor Eric Adams’ to-do list.

“There was a plan, there was a blueprint,” Gutiérrez said. “There was a study and a look at where the deserts are.”

Gutiérrez said she is planning more hearings on the city’s planning efforts.

Brine, the real estate executive, said that programs like ConnectALL are important to growing housing in any community, from the North Country to Westchester County to New York City, describing it as a “basic utility.”

“It is so integrated,” Brine said of high-speed internet access. “It is almost like not having water.”