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New York's Multi-Million Dollar Broadband Program Expands to Rural Four-County Area

In total statewide, Round II will drive $268 million in public-private investment and support 54 projects that will reach 89,514 homes and institutions in unserved and underserved communities.

(TNS) -- The state's multi-million dollar Broadband Program, which awarded grants to provide thousands of consumers with access to high-speed broadband for the first time, includes projects in a rural four-county area.

Round II of the New NY Broadband Program also will leverage private matching funds, according Gov. Andrew Cuomo who announced details in media releases Tuesday.

In the Mohawk Valley region, which includes Otsego and Schoharie counties, Cuomo announced that $31.3 million in grants have been awarded to 11 projects. The awards will provide 7,314 homes and businesses with access to high-speed broadband for the first time, and leverage $8.1 million in private matching funds, the release said.

“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,” Cuomo said.

In total statewide, Round II will drive $268 million in public-private investment and support 54 projects that will reach 89,514 homes and institutions in unserved and underserved communities, the release said. With upstate upgrades being carried out by Charter under mandates from the state Public Service Commission, Round II awards will ensure that 98 percent of New Yorkers will have access to the high-speed broadband, which officials said is needed to succeed in a modern economy.

The awarded projects involve businesses, government buildings, health care facilities, institutions of higher education, public schools and public safety locations, the release said.

The Broadband Program is the largest and most ambitious state investment in broadband in the nation, with a goal of achieving statewide broadband access in New York by the end of 2018, the governor said.

The Broadband Program Office is finalizing a request for proposals for Round III. The release said Round III will be complemented by $170 million in Connect America Funds, which was recently allocated to the state by the Federal Communications Commission.

©2017 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.