Cayuga County is one of three counties being asked to loan the Central New York Planning and Development Board money as it seeks a state grant to install broadband in underserved areas.
Executive Director of the Board, David Bottar, explained the proposal to the Cayuga County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee.
The board is seeking a $29.5 million reimbursement grant from the state to install a fiber optic network from Cortland County to Oswego County, passing through Cayuga County.
The 335-mile network would bring high-speed internet to rural areas in all three counties that are lacking such services, eventually making high-speed internet available to all in Cayuga County.
“We build this multi-mile network through Cayuga County,” said Bottar. “The ECC has already been having conversations with internet service providers that would tap into this backbone network going through Cayuga County and they will bring the last miles of service to all of the unserved addresses in Cayuga County, so this would be a big big win for the region and a big big win for Cayuga.”
To help secure the grant, the board is seeking $15 million from the counties to show the state that it can begin to finance the project.
If successful, the grant would cover all the project’s costs, including interest paid to each county for their loans.
The board is asking for approximately $7 million from Cayuga County, $3 million from Cortland County, and $5 million from Oswego County. The board based these amounts on the amount of network that is planned for construction in each county.
No action was taken by the committee following Bottar’s presentation.
Bottar’s presentation can be viewed below.
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