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Funding from the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package signed into law last week, will soon start making its way down to local projects, including broadband internet access.
“There still is a digital divide, particularly in rural parts of the state, and for lower-income New Yorkers.”
Reports that show all 50 senators’ spending for the month of July were posted to the Senate’s website Wednesday morning.
“Getting these costs nailed down is really the next step.”
“I think this will be a magnet for small businesses to locate within the city of Binghamton because I think there’s going to be more choice for them.”
“This initiative will help create affordable connected homes that equip residents with the tools necessary to thrive in the modern world.”
“The school district has trouble with their teachers getting access to the students. Some of the hospitals and medical units have trouble getting access to people in the rural areas.”
“When so many people had to work and learn and play at home, the lack of broadband internet service clearly became a real problem for those families.”
A new federal program will provide low-income residents with a monthly stipend to help pay for internet service.
The legislation would allow the state to treat high-speed internet as a utility, which would empower regulators to drill down on the industry, like they do with other utilities.
“For America, broadband holds great power. It will either be the great equalizer for society, or it will be the great divider.”
The deal will also require the state to study access and reliability of high-speed internet service statewide, including in historically underserved rural areas.
The legislation would have required the Public Service Commission to study the availability, affordability, and reliability of high-speed internet
If Cuomo doesn’t act on the bill by the end of the month, it will quietly disappear in the form of a pocket veto, which means lawmakers would have to pass it again for his consideration.
“These residents have been as isolated as ever before, many have not been able to see their parents, their families at all.”
“A basic high-speed internet plan costs on average more than $50 per month. For too many families, this just isn’t affordable.”
Expansion includes Elmira, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo in New York state.
“If we’re going to get serious about bridging the urban-rural divide and making sure that schoolchildren are not left behind then we have to work together to do a few things.”
“What we have found is these companies are very secretive. They don’t want to shed too much light on their business practices. But to me, sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
The company is raising the price of its standard internet service by $4; the broadcast TV surcharge will increase $1.51 and the receiver (the cable box) is going up by 49 cents per receiver.
State lawmakers will lead a hearing in Albany Wednesday that focuses on rural access to broadband, an issue the state has tried to improve.
Bridging the internet access gap in the Finger Lakes is the focus of a summit today in Geneva. The Finger Lakes Digital Inclusion Coalition is meeting to discuss how a lack of internet access at home can affect communities in the region.
Statewide research from Penn State finds that there’s a severe lack of connectivity to high-speed broadband internet for much of Pennsylvania. The preliminary results of the study suggest that the problem is far worse than experts initially estimated.