Media Contact: 
Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253
mark.wigfield@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release


FCC AUTHORIZES NEARLY $16.2 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR 
RURAL BROADBAND IN UPSTATE NEW YORK
Second Wave of FCC Funding Will Expand Broadband Access 
in 14 Upstate Counties in Partnership with State

WASHINGTON, August 12, 2019—The FCC today authorized nearly $16.2 million in federal funding over the next decade to expand broadband to 8,088 unserved rural New York homes and businesses, the second round of matching funds being provided in a partnership with the state’s New NY Broadband Program.  Providers will begin receiving funding this month.

“Our partnership with New York is continuing to connect unserved rural areas of Upstate New York,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  “Closing the digital divide is the FCC’s top priority, and I’m proud that this partnership will help bring the opportunities that high-speed Internet offers Upstate.”

The federal funding is being provided through the FCC’s Connect America Fund, which is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America.  On August 1, the FCC proposed taking its biggest single step to date toward this goal by establishing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which would direct up to $20.4 billion to expand broadband in unserved rural areas. 

The New York federal funding applications authorized today are as follows:

· Armstrong Telecommunications Inc. will receive $12,821,813 over the next decade to expand broadband to 6,709 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps

· DTC Cable Inc. will receive $2,103,935 over the next decade to expand broadband to 712 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps

· Haefele TV Inc. will receive $1,257,581 over the next decade to expand broadband to 667 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps

Below is deployment by county, provider, and number of homes and businesses served (locations): 




County
Company
Locations
Allegany
Armstrong Telecommunications
3,005
Cattaraugus
Armstrong Telecommunications
2,883
Chemung
Haefele TV
162
Chenango
DTC Cable
1
Cortland
Haefele TV
4
Delaware
DTC Cable
519
Erie
Armstrong Telecommunications
26
Livingston
Armstrong Telecommunications
42
Otsego
DTC Cable
192
Schuyler
Haefele TV
36
Steuben
Armstrong Telecommunications
693
Steuben
Haefele TV
164
Tioga
Haefele TV
285
Tompkins
Haefele TV
16
Wyoming
Armstrong Telecommunications
60
TOTAL

8,088


To comply with FCC rules, providers must build out to 40% of the assigned homes and businesses in the areas won in New York within three years.  Buildout must increase by 20% in each subsequent year, until complete buildout is reached at the end of the sixth year.

More information about the Connect America Fund is available at https://www.fcc.gov/general/connect-america-fund-caf.  

More information about the New NY Broadband program is available at 
https://nysbroadband.ny.gov/new-ny-broadband-program/phase-3-awards.

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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).