UPSTATE NEW YORK LAWMAKERS SEND LETTER TO FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DECRYING EXCLUSION FROM $20.4B RURAL BROADBAND INITIATIVE

FCC Excludes New York State from Accessing Federal Funds to Connect High-Need Rural Areas to High-Speed Internet Broadband

Albany, N.Y. — Today, Assemblymembers Patricia Fahy (D — Albany) and Carrie Woerner (D — Round Lake) were joined by eleven of their Upstate Assembly colleagues in sending a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging a reversal in their decision to exclude New York State from participating in the $20.4bn Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. This recently announced FCC initiative assists states with connecting residents in high-need rural areas to reliable, affordable high-speed broadband internet service.

The FCC claims New York State’s creation of a 2015 program, New NY Broadband, and participation in other, previous federal initiatives as a justification for excluding just New York from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. As U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer noted in their letter to the FCC on Jan. 17, New York State is a significant contributor to Universal Service Fund programs, and thus should be allowed to participate in an initiative it helps fund along with the 49 other participating states.

A 2019 FCC report on the progress of deployment of broadband internet service nationwide found that almost 20% of New York residents lack access to what is considered high-speed internet broadband service. In today’s modern economy, reliable access to the internet is a necessity in order to access financial assistance programs, basic health, governmental, and other services, obtain gainful employment, and helps contribute to disparate educational, social, and health outcomes.

A copy of the letter can be found here.