Lt. Governor Hochul touts broadband effort
T he Mid- Hudson Regional Economic Development Council and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul say they are focused on spreadi ng broadband connectivity throughout the region .
Hochul, in Poughkeepsie on Wednesday, said that with the New NY Broadband Program, launched on Jan. 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is “laser focused” on the Mid-Hudson region, and she compared broadband to being as necessary as respiration for anyone living in the civilized world today.
“When I go all over the state and I’m speaking to business groups and peo- ple in academia and just families, when I mention the word ‘ broadband,’ everybody pays attention,” Hochul said.
“It’ s like breathing; if you have it, you take it for granted, if you’ve got high- speed broadband, you never think. If you don’t have it, you’re gasping for air; you’re not competing if you’re a business.”
Certain parts of t he Mid-Hudson region, for example Sullivan County, have areas where there is no broadband, and if you’re a Time Warner Cable customer in the region, you’re not receiving service that is consistent with the definition of broadband, council officials say. That means Time Warner Cable cus- tomers currently are receiving a data-transmission speed of 50 megabits per second, they say. The definition of broadband, according to Jeff Nordhaus, executive vice president of innovation and broadband for the council, is 100 megabits per second.
Many Time Warner customers may have received mail f rom t he company stating their Internet speed will soon be doubled.
This is the result of the state Public Service Commission reviewing t he planned Time Warner-Charter merger. Broadband is expected to be extended to 145,000 customers in unserved areas and, by 2019, will have an increased down- load speed of 300 megabits per second.
Economic Development Council Director Megan Taylor said, “This is a very strong focus of the Governor’ s Office and, I think, extremely pivotal in the success of economic development, not only in the Mid-Hudson but throughout the state.”
Nordhaus said ,“A modern broadband network is key to economic growth and commerce.”
The request for proposals portal for the New NY Broadband Program will open on March 1 and bids will be due by April 15. The bidding process will be a “reverse auction,” in which the lowest price will be awarded the contract.