SCHUMER, AFTER DELIVERING CRITICAL $8 MILLION IN FED FUNDING, ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION OF 1,400 NEW BROADBAND PASSINGS TO BRING FULL BROADBAND ACCESS TO WAYNE COUNTY, SERVICING EVERY UNSERVED ADDRESS AND HELPING CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN THE FINGER LAKES

Schumer Led The American Rescue Plan To Passage As First Major Bill As Majority Leader, Providing Critical, Flexible State & Local Aid For Municipalities Like Wayne County To Recover From The Pandemic And Make Long-Term Investment To Improve Infrastructure, Including Broadband

Because Of Funding Schumer Secured, Wayne County Was Able To Invest $8 Million In ARPA Funds To Finally Realize Multi-Year Goal Of Having 100% Broadband Coverage Across The Entire County

Schumer: With This Vital ARPA Funding, We Are Well On Our Way To Closing The Digital Divide In Wayne Once And For All!

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced the start of construction on 1,400 new broadband passings for Wayne County to bring full broadband access to the entire community and help close the digital divide in the Finger Lakes. Schumer explained that Wayne is utilizing $8 million of the $17 million he secured in local aid through the American Rescue Plan for the county to expand broadband access, so that for the first time ever, unserved locations of Wayne County will have high-speed internet access.

“The pandemic laid bare what the people of Wayne County have known for far too long: that access to reliable, fast internet service is not a luxury, but a necessity. In my first major act as Majority Leader, I led the American Rescue Plan to passage with billions to help hard-hit communities recover from the darkest days of the pandemic and make long-term investments to strengthen their communities, including essential infrastructure like broadband,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to have delivered the $8 million in federal funding needed to finally close the digital divide in Wayne County and get Finger Lakes residents and businesses the service they require in the modern economy. Today is the start of connecting Wayne County to the future and a better quality of life for our rural families so that they can access the high-speed internet they need to succeed.”

Schumer said that the broadband project will begin this year, with the goal of being completed by the end of 2025. The project is made possible through $8 million in federal funding from the ARPA. The project is intended to bring internet service to every unserved ‘broadband serviceable location’ in Wayne County.

Schumer has fought tirelessly to expand access to high-speed broadband and close the digital divide across New York State. Recently, Schumer delivered a historic nearly $670 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act – the largest single federal investment for broadband in New York State’s history – to provide affordable high-speed internet to locations in New York that currently have no broadband service. This funding came from the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD). As Majority Leader, Schumer delivered a record $65 billion in funding to expand access to high-speed internet in underserved rural and urban communities across America. The BEAD program allocates funding directly to the states to close the digital divide in high-cost, unserved and underserved communities.

The BEAD allocation followed a $100 million award through the American Rescue Plan for New York State from the Treasury Department’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, announced by Schumer in May, to expand high-speed internet and two planning grants totaling over $7 million announced in December. In addition, this past June, Schumer announced $14.5+ million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program to expand broadband access across Upstate NY.

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