FCC Reviewing New York County Broadband Initiative as Potential Model

Government executives who are curious about the specific projects that are likely to result from the National Broadband Plan might want to study Axcess Ontario, the county-established nonprofit deploying a fiber network in Ontario County (NY).

County officials met with the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday, May 4, to explain their broadband strategy. The program, much of which is already implemented, focuses on snaking a 180-mile fiber backhaul throughout all municipalities in Ontario County. Any service provider will be free to extend its network equipment from the backhaul to provide services to homes and businesses. Unlike numerous similar attempts in other parts of the country, Ontario County funded its network without dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Those who created Axcess Ontario were insistent the project shouldn't rely on the availability of outside funding, according to Edward Hemminger, CIO of Ontario County.