The state of New York announced last week that it has begun accepting applications in the state’s Affordable Housing Connectivity Program. The program has $100 million to award in the program.
The program is being administered by the state’s broadband office, known as ConnectALL, in consultation with New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
The program is designed to make affordable internet connectivity available to residents in 100,000 affordable housing units in the state. Administrators hope to reach 100,000 housing units.
Internet service providers are eligible to apply for funding, which can be used for fiber connections to properties, including last-mile infrastructure and drops to a building, or for in-building equipment and wiring retrofits. This can include in-building wiring, smart panels or other in-unit termination or routers.
The infrastructure must support symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps to each residence. Funding will not go to property owners, but if approved for participation, the property will get an upgrade at no cost to the owner. For a property to be eligible for an upgrade, the property owner must complete a survey.
Funding will go to the company doing the work. Entities eligible to receive funding include broadband infrastructure owners, broadband infrastructure builders, internet service providers, and managed service providers.
Additional information about the program, including a request for application that interested providers must complete, is available at this link.
Providers will be assessed based on experience, network and service quality, price, and other criteria. The state will match eligible providers with eligible properties. Grantee selection is expected to be announced in July 2024.
The $100 million budget for the program came through the federal Capital Projects Fund. The funding comprises 29% of the state’s CPF allocation.
“With work, school and essential government services going digital, affordable homes need affordable, reliable broadband, and this funding will help bolster our efforts to build housing equipped with the basic tools that New Yorkers need to succeed,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a prepared statement.
Additional information about New York broadband initiatives, including links to ConnectALL resources and related Telecompetitor coverage, can be found on the Broadband Nation web page for New York.
Source: Telecompetitor
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