New Maps Will Find Broadband Availability Gaps In New York
The New York State Public Service Commission has released a first-of-its-kind interactive broadband map.
The map will provide the most detailed depiction of broadband infrastructure in New York to date.
The interactive map, along with an accompanying report, is the result of six months of field assessments conducted by the PSC, covering more than 80,000 miles.
In order to collect accurate data, the commission teamed up with 60 internet service providers and surveyed tens of thousands of New York consumers.
"High-speed internet is more essential than ever to access the basic services and information that we use in our daily lives," Governor Kathy Hochul said. "With this mapping in hand, we can see where to direct State and Federal broadband funding to connect unserved and underserved areas. This address-specific tool is one we can wield to provide a more accurate depiction of connectivity needs in areas that have been disconnected for far too long."
Prior to the map's creation, New York, like most states, relied in part on federal data that only required broadband providers to deliver service to one address in a census block to designate the entire area as served.
By collecting address-level data, New York is now able to depict what locations are served, underserved, and unserved, which will aid in allocating state and federal funding.
To support local efforts to expand affordable and reliable broadband, Empire State Development will establish and administer grant programs at the state and federal level to provide funding to plan, engineer and construct accessible broadband infrastructure.