USDA Invests $4.3 Million in Rural Broadband for New York Families

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy announced USDA has invested $4.3 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 1,000 rural households on the Seneca Nation’s Cattaraugus Territory in western NY. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program investments.

The Seneca Nation, through Seneca Telecommunications, will use a ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service area includes more than 1,000 households, 58 businesses, 25 farms, three educational facilities, one health care center and one critical community facility. The project will facilitate more access to services and information for local residents, and it will improve the overall quality of life for people on the Cattaraugus Territory and in the local community.