New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is launching a new $50 million broadband funding push that aims to deliver broadband services to underserved communities in the state.
The new funding is coming from New York’s ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Program (MIP) and will boost the program’s broadband funding in the state to nearly $290 million since its launch in 2022. MIP is funded in part by the state, and by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund, which gets its money from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act approved by Congress in 2021.
Thus far, spending under the program has created close to 2,400 miles of new fiber lines and provided connectivity for nearly 100,000 homes and businesses in the state.
Applications for the latest funding round are open through April 25 and must be submitted through the state’s Consolidated Funding Application portal.
Grants awarded under MIP support the construction of open-access, publicly owned broadband infrastructure. The governor’s office said the program continues the state’s push to develop community-led networks that encourage competition among internet service providers, lower consumer costs, and improve service quality.
“Reliable, affordable high-speed internet is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity,” Gov. Hochul said.
She said the latest funding round “builds on our efforts to connect every New Yorker by investing in communities that have long been overlooked by traditional providers.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hailed the new funding, saying, “Broadband is a necessity, not a luxury… I’m proud to deliver nearly $50 million in federal funding municipalities can use to bring high-speed internet to rural and underserved areas.”
The latest phase of MIP also aligns with Governor Hochul’s broader plan to create the Excelsior Broadband Network — a statewide web of public broadband assets. The first leg of this project will run fiber along the full length of the New York State Thruway, improving both internet and cellular connectivity throughout the corridor.
