Broadband LDC receives $1.7 million

By LIAM MAYO
Posted 6/15/22

MONTICELLO, NY — Sullivan County has waited a year and a half for broadband funding.

The Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation (LDC) was founded in 2020 to expand broadband …

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Broadband LDC receives $1.7 million

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MONTICELLO, NY — Sullivan County has waited a year and a half for broadband funding.

The Sullivan Broadband Local Development Corporation (LDC) was founded in 2020 to expand broadband internet access throughout Sullivan County. It applied for a grant from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) in December of that year, seeking around $2 million to kickstart its broadband project.

The LDC’s wait for funding ended on June 7, as the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer announced that the EDA had awarded the LDC funding in the amount of $1.7 million.

The grant builds on work the LDC is doing at three sites in Liberty and Monticello, and allows the LDC to build toward providing much of the county with broadband internet. The LDC will match the EDA grant with $415,063 in local funding; Schumer’s office expects the grant 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,” said Schumer. “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.”

The funding will be used to buy and install equipment to broadcast a wireless broadband signal from Sullivan County’s public communications towers. County residents who subscribe to the service will use receivers in their homes to connect to that signal and access the internet.

The LDC will install equipment in the county’s 10 public communications towers; the first tower in the village of Monticello is already up and running. The infrastructure in place at the conclusion of that phase will allow the LDC to serve around 65 percent of the county; future phases of the project are intended to push that number toward 100 percent.

The LDC plans to start construction on the county’s communications towers this summer. As reported previously by the River Reporter, the LDC requested and received $2 million in funding from the Sullivan County Legislature as a fall-back option in case the EDA grant did not come through in time. After receiving that money in February, the LDC heard back from the EDA about its application and decided to wait a few months to give the EDA time to provide the county with funding.

“After years of working with Sen. 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... is a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to making sure our residents have access to reliable, high-speed internet,” said county manager Joshua Potosek.

“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,” said LDC chairman Michael Brooks. “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.”

Sullivan County Broadband LDC, broadband, federal funding

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