Madison County starts planning broadband project

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. — Madison County officials held a kickoff meeting May 31 with their partners for the construction of a broadband project.

The county received a $10.1 million USDA ReConnect Grant in July 2021, a $3.3 million match from Madison County, and a $2.3 million investment by Empire Access to fund the project.

The broadband project will construct a fiber-optic broadband network to provide service to the unserved and underserved areas of the county. Over the next several months, Madison County will work with its partners to develop a three-stage construction timeline.

The meeting included Empire Access, which will provide the service for the new network, Madison County Administrator Mark Scimone, Town of Lenox Supervisor John Pinard, New York Engineering Services, ECC Technologies, Madison County Treasurer Cindy Edick, Madison County Director of Planning Scott Ingmire, and other county leaders.

“We are excited about today’s kickoff meeting,” Scimone said in a news release. “Our society revolves around being online, whether it is for school, health care, or even for fun. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be able to access high-speed, reliable internet. That is exactly what this new broadband infrastructure will take time due to the complexity of the fiber design and build out and numerous regulations we must follow.”

Those interested in following the progress of the project can visit www.madisoncounty.ny.gov/2765/USDA-ReConnect-Project.