Syracuse awarded $10.8M to bring better internet to neighborhoods

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $70 million in awards through ConnectALL’s Municipal Infrastructure Program to help connect New Yorkers to high-speed broadband internet.

The program includes million-dollar investments in  Central New York and North Country regions.

“These awards mark the next step in our billion-dollar effort to close New York’s digital divide,” Governor Hochul said. “We are funding projects from Syracuse to Franklin County to strengthen our broadband infrastructure and bring affordable, reliable, high-speed internet to more than 25,000 New York families.”

The City of Syracuse has been awarded 10.8 million as part of this initiative. The money will go to expanding the Surge Link internet service network to over 13,000 locations in five city neighborhoods including the Valley, Skunk City, Washington Square, Northside, and Near Northeast.

The expanded network will reach the areas of the city that experience the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and lowest educational attainment when compared to the city and county as a whole.

Prices for the broadband internet service will be $14.99 per month to low-income households and symmetric 100 Mbps service for $36.99.

Just to the north of the City of Syracuse in the North Country region, Franklin County and DANC have been awarded 2.4 million to provide more than 1,600 homes and businesses with SLICFiber, a private internet service provider.

This funding includes many of the hardest-to-reach unserved locations in the County, navigating around natural wetlands and areas with no utility service. The project will allow more residents to access telehealth services and the option to engage in remote work.

The county will work with the Development Authority of the North Country, which has decades of experience managing public infrastructure across the North County.

The Development Authority of the North Country will build 36 miles of open-access fiber to the utility poles along the locations to be served.

Other awarded areas of New York State that have received funding to expand internet access include in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.

ConnectALL is expected to announce additional rounds of Municipal Infrastructure Program funding in the coming months. To find out more, visit the Municipal Infrastructure Program on the ConnectALL website.

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