Onondaga County chooses Verizon for $18 million rural broadband program

LaFAYETTE, N.Y. — Onondaga County on Tuesday announced that Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will deploy broadband services in several communities within the county.

The nearly $18 million effort will bring all-fiber, high-speed broadband services to over 1,500 locations in the county. The financing includes $11.1 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and a nearly $7 million investment from Verizon.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon made the announcement during a late-morning event at the LaFayette Town Hall.

“Onondaga County is proud of this initiative and pleased to help deliver this vital service to our rural residents,” McMahon said in the news release. “Verizon’s choice to partner with us and invest in the county is another indicator of the resurgence that is occurring here. Moving forward with FiOS broadband is a huge competitive advantage and will help our residents recover more quickly from the economic impact of the pandemic. It also provides vastly greater data capacity at a time that virtually every consumer is relying more on online services to function remotely. It will also set the stage for increased competition in the data and voice sectors.”

Verizon will leverage its supplier relationships to meet the goals set by Onondaga County related to minority/women-owned business enterprises (MWBE). Anticipated suppliers include Corning Incorporated and Right Price Companies (RPC technology) of Syracuse, which are expected to supply Verizon with fiber-optics cable and other materials, per the announcement.