BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Southern Tier 8 Regional Board is pursuing a $22 million federal grant to connect nearly 900 homes to high-speed fiberoptic broadband for the internet.
The initiative, called Project Connect, seeks to connect the agency’s entire eight-county region to high-speed broadband, Jen Gregory, executive director of the Southern Tier 8 regional board said during a recent news conference in Binghamton.
The agency would use the grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to connect 895 residential addresses in the towns of Caroline, Coventry, Danby, German, Guilford, McDonough, Newfield, Oxford, and Taylor
All of the 895 addresses in the 10 towns are located in rural areas with no access to broadband service.
If awarded, the 895 homes in the NTIA grant would connect to the internet through a partnership with internet-service providers Hafele Connect in Spencer in Tioga County; Interconnect Wireless Corp. (IWC), which is based in Norwich; and Ithaca–based Point Broadband.
“High-speed broadband is just about the most important piece of infrastructure for the Southern Tier and Central New York Regions to attract the jobs of the future and enhance quality-of-life and overall opportunity,” Gregory said. “Through Project Connect, Southern Tier 8 is leading the charge to connect the entire region to fast, affordable, and reliable broadband service. Together with our partners Haefele Connect, IWC, and Point Broadband, I’m proud to say that we are making tremendous progress in connecting our part of the state. But, there’s lots more work to be done, so our sleeves are rolled up and we’re taking action.”
About Southern Tier 8 Regional Board
The Southern Tier 8 Regional Board is an economic development and planning agency serving eight counties in the Southern Tier: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, and Tompkins.
Southern Tier 8’s focus is to “sustain and grow the regional economy by developing forward-thinking ideas and practical solutions to create opportunities for the future,” per its news release.