Our wireless broadband-for-all project just got a major boost thanks to the efforts of Senator Chuck Schumer and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. See the Senator's press release below...
Following his personal visit and direct advocacy to boost affordable, reliable high-speed internet access in Sullivan County, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced that the Sullivan County Division of Public Works has been awarded a $1.7 million grant through the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Economic Adjustment Assistance program. Schumer said that this funding will go towards the County’s efforts to develop a much-needed countywide, county-owned wireless broadband network to greatly expand high-speed internet access for Sullivan County residents and business owners.
Specifically, Schumer said that this $1.7 million EDA investment will allow the Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation (LDC) to outfit the county’s public safety broadcast towers with equipment to transmit a wireless broadband signal to provide roughly 65 percent of Sullivan County with access to broadband. As the critically needed backbone of a much larger project, Schumer further explained that this work builds on the LDC’s ongoing projects at three sites in Liberty and Monticello and its ultimate goal of expanding coverage beyond these locations to underserved areas to reach full county-wide coverage in the years to come. The EDA grant will be matched with $415,063 in local funds and is expected to generate $4.5 million in private investment.
“In March of 2021, I visited Sullivan County and stood alongside local officials, educators, and business owners to launch our fight to finally give our rural Sullivan County communities the access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet that they deserve. After months of working with our EDA representative, the county government, and our Hudson Valley Regional Council to address the digital divide, I am proud to announce this $1.7 million federal investment to dial up our fight to bring Sullivan County businesses and residents into the 21st century,” said Senator Schumer. “This funding will go towards developing a countywide, county-owned, wireless broadband network, which means new good-paying jobs, a boost to our businesses, better healthcare, and further narrowing the ‘homework gap.’ Alongside the historic funding I secured for local governments and broadband infrastructure in the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Sullivan County will now be able to plug its residents and business owners into the future.”
“After years of working with Senator Schumer and the Hudson Valley Regional Council, we are thrilled that Sullivan County has been awarded $1.7 million to expand broadband access across Sullivan County. This funding will go towards installing the necessary equipment to provide internet access to roughly 65 percent of our residents and is a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to making sure our residents have access to reliable, high-speed internet. We thank Senator Schumer for visiting Sullivan County, listening to us, and getting it done," said Joshua Potosek, Sullivan County Manager.
“Our goal at the Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation is to give every Sullivan County resident and business owner access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. Life and commerce in the 21st century requires it, and this EDA funding will go a long way in helping our county achieve that goal. From the very beginning, Senator Schumer supported us in this fight and we thank him, along with Pat Pomeroy at the Hudson Valley Regional Council for their ongoing support of defeating the digital divide here in Sullivan County through this critical project,” said Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation Chairman, Michael Brooks.
Schumer said that, in late 2020, by unanimous vote of the Sullivan County legislature, the Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation (LDC) was created with the goal of providing wireless broadband service to all Sullivan County residents and businesses. To make this plan reality, Sullivan County officials first sought the help of Senator Schumer in December of 2020 as the county set out to outfit the county’s public safety broadcast towers with equipment to transmit a wireless broadband signal and build out a network of secondary towers to expand service in underserved areas. Schumer was quick to support these efforts, explaining that the pandemic put a spotlight on the lack of sufficient internet access faced by many businesses, school districts and households in the Hudson Valley and Catskills. According to the FCC and NYS Comptroller 2021 broadband report, 14.3% of households, over 4,000 homes, are without sufficient broadband access.
Working to defeat the digital divide, in late March of 2021, Senator Schumer made a personal visit to Sullivan County to meet with local officials, educators, business owners, and other stakeholders regarding Sullivan County’s lack of access to high-speed internet. During this visit, Schumer pushed for the EDA project announced today, stressing the importance of access to high-speed internet for the residents and businesses in rural Sullivan County. Over the past several months, Schumer has worked with Sullivan County, EDA representatives, and the Hudson Valley Regional Council on this project, leading to the $1.7 million investment announced today.
This project is funded through a $500 million set aside in EDA’s Economic Adjustment Assistance program that Senator Schumer secured as a part of the American Rescue Plan to accelerate economic recovery from the pandemic and help communities like Sullivan County put people back to work through projects designed to strengthen the local economy and make the region more competitive for good-paying jobs and new business investment.
Original source can be found here.
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