New York

Governor Kathy Hochul highlighted the launch of Phase 4 of New York State’s Municipal Infrastructure Program Request for Applications, making nearly $50 million available to support broadband infrastructure projects across the state. MIP connects unserved and underserved communities to high-speed internet through open-access and publicly controlled broadband infrastructure. To date, ConnectALL has awarded over $240 million, enabling the construction of almost 2,400 miles of fiber and connecting nearly 100,000 locations statewide.

New York City officials on revealed a $2.4 million project to advance digital equity. Mayor Eric Adams and city Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser announced the NYC Digital Equity Roadmap, a document containing 11 initiatives the city says it will undertake in the coming months to continue closing the gap in access to broadband service across the five boroughs.

The Supreme Court has once again rejected a telecommunications industry challenge to New York's $15 broadband law. The court first refused the hear the case in December, which meant that an appeals court ruling upholding the law was not disturbed.

New York's law requiring Internet service providers to offer broadband for $15 or $20 a month has spurred legislative efforts in other states to guarantee affordable service for people with low incomes.

When New York's law requiring $15 or $20 broadband plans for people with low incomes took effect, Optimum customer William O'Brien tried to sign up for the cheap Internet service. Since O'Brien is in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, he qualifies for one of the affordable plans that Internet service providers must offer New Yorkers who meet income eligibility requirements. Despite qualifying for a low-income plan under the law's criteria, O'Brien's request was denied by Optimum.

Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced a $26 million ConnectALL grant to Oswego County to construct a fiber-to-the-home network that will expand broadband access to about 10,792 homes, businesses and community institutions across 22 towns and villages. The project will construct 345 miles of fiber infrastructure, significantly expanding high-speed internet access throughout rural areas of the county. This grant is part of New York State's Municipal Infrastructure Program, which has now awarded over $240 million in funding for broadband expansion projects.

The New York State Digital Equity Plan––created by the state's ConnectALL Office––envisions a state transformed by digital infrastructure that brings to all New York residents access to high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband for education, economic growth, and full participation in civic life.

Joshua Breitbart, Senior Vice President of New York’s Empire State Development, has spent most of his career working on broadband projects of one kind or another. In early 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced the formation of the Empire State Development ConnectALL initiative in her “State of the State” address.

AT&T announced that it will withdraw its 5G home Internet product in New York rather than comply with the law that requires it to offer broadband rates as low as $15. The law went into effect recently when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal for the New York law approved by the New York legislature in 2018.