Empire Access receives $3.2M state grant

Jun 13, 2017 at 10:12 pm by Observer-Review


Empire Access receives $3.2M state grant ADVERTISEMENT

Empire Access receives $3.2M state grant

PRATTSBURGH-Empire Access has received a $3.2 million grant award from the New York Broadband Program. The program was developed to help fund the expansion of high-speed broadband internet service in New York state, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all New Yorkers have high-speed broadband access by the end of 2018.
Empire Access is a locally owned and operated telecommunications company, offering high-speed Internet, digital television, phone and security services to homes and businesses--all enabled by fiber optic technology--to more than 25 communities in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania.
"The NYS Broadband program has enabled Empire Access to build a fiber optic network and provide gigabit internet services in rural areas where it would be economically prohibitive. This program is a game changer for rural New York," said Jim Baase, Chief Operating Officer, Empire Access.
The New York Broadband Program grant provides Empire Access with funding for the expansion of high-speed broadband services to more than 1,600 homes and businesses in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions of New York, including Burdett, Lodi, Odessa, Prattsburgh and Pulteney. These specific areas were identified by the New York State Broadband Program Office as underserved or unserved in Phase II of a multi-phase grant process.
Empire will offer residents in the awarded areas super-fast internet service with standard speeds of 100 Mbps download x 20 Mbps upload, along with an even faster 1 Gigabit per second option. High definition digital television, digital phone, security and smart home services will also be available. All services will use a 100 percent Fiber Optic dedicated connection.
"Empire Access is excited to be part of the state's broadband initiative to expand high-speed broadband services throughout New York," said Baase. "We're grateful to Governor Cuomo and the legislature for their support and we look forward to working with the state of New York to accomplish this goal."
This deployment of broadband service is supported by a grant awarded to Empire Access by New York State through the New York Broadband Program.
To check current coverage and future expansion for this New York Broadband Program grant, visit http://www.empireaccess.com/where-we-are/check-location.
Recognizing the importance of broadband infrastructure and building on prior state investments in broadband deployment, in 2015, with legislative support, Cuomo established the $500 million New York Broadband Program. The program provides New York State grant funding to support projects that deliver high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved areas of the state, with priority to unserved areas, libraries, and educational opportunity centers.
An "unserved" area is defined as an area where the fastest available advertised internet download speed offered by a wireline-based provider is less than 25 Mbps. An "underserved" area is defined as an area where broadband service is only available from a wireline-based provider at advertised internet download speeds between 25 Mbps and 99 Mbps.

$element(adman,groupads,YatesRight6)$


$element(adman,groupads,YatesRight5)$


$element(adman,groupads,YatesRight8)$


$element(adman,groupads,SchuylerRight3)$

Sections: NEWS 1