MONTICELLO, NY – Sullivan County will receive nearly $30 million to expand high-speed broadband internet service, Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced today. The funding, part of a larger $140 million initiative, will be used to construct over 1,200 miles of publicly-owned fiber-optic infrastructure and wireless hubs across New York State, connecting over 60,000 homes and businesses.
This grant, the largest single project investment in Sullivan County history, will be used to partner with Archtop Fiber to extend multi-gig fiberoptic internet throughout the region. This technology is capable of delivering upload and download speeds up to 10Gbps.
“In collaboration with our longtime partner Archtop Fiber, we now have the opportunity to launch a new era of high-speed, reliable, widespread connectivity throughout Sullivan County, ensuring broadband availability is as common and easily obtained as electricity,” said Sullivan County Manager Joshua A. Potosek. “This award represents the largest grant Sullivan County has ever received for a single project, and we are immensely grateful to Governor Hochul and Empire State Development for their faith in and advocacy for this important project.”
The project aims to provide affordable, symmetric internet service, with equal download and upload speeds at prices below regional averages. The funding will also be used to connect Sullivan County’s emergency communication towers to Archtop’s system, providing wireless broadband service to areas that are difficult or expensive to reach with fiber.
Nadia Rajsz, the Chair of the Sullivan County Legislature, said, “We have been working toward this goal for years, and now we can confidently move forward to bring every part of Sullivan County into the 21st century of super-high-speed and affordable Internet access.”
Lorne Green, Sullivan County’s Commissioner of Information Technology Services and the initiator of the project, emphasized the importance of perseverance in securing the funding. “Today’s award announcement shows the importance of never giving up on a meaningful goal,” he stated. “I’m very proud to have been a small part of the County team that worked on this grant request. I’m also grateful to the legislative bodies and County management that have supported this effort over the past 10 years. This is an important investment in Sullivan County’s future and a transformative first step toward a goal of 100% coverage, new opportunities, and growth for our community in the decades ahead.”
Image: Hundreds of spools of high-speed fiber-optic cable at Archtop Fiber are ready to install throughout Sullivan County. (Credit: Sullivan County Government)