Broadband $2.9 Million Funding Award

The Delaware County Broadband Initiative (DCBI) was awarded $2.9 million in matching New York State grant funding by the Southern Tier Economic Development Council following Governor Cuomo’s annual Regional Council Awards Ceremony on Thursday. The DCBI project is a partnership between MTC Cable, a subsidiary of the Margaretville Telephone Company, DTC Cable, a subsidiary of the Delhi Telephone Company, and the Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC) to extend broadband services to the un-served residents and businesses located within the DCEC service area. The project proposes to extend over 210 miles of fiber optic facilities passing 1800 un-served and underserved households, businesses, and anchor institutions of the DCEC membership located within the townships of Andes, Colchester, Hamden, Hardenburgh, Harpersfield, Jefferson, Kortright, and Meredith. Total project cost is over $6,700,000 including $3.7 million in private investment, $2.9 million in NYS grant funding, $25,000 from the Catskill Watershed Corporation, and funding from the Town of Hardenburgh Rising Community Program. The fiber optic network will offer a suite of advanced telecommunications services including voice, video, and broadband. In addition, the network will have the capacity to meet future cell tower connectivity needs, provide business-class Ethernet circuits, and support the Delaware County Emergency Services communications network.

“The compelling strength of the DCBI application has been the collaborative effort put forth by the partner companies to address the financial challenges of deploying broadband services into the rural segments of our communities”, explains Glen Faulkner, General Manager of the Margaretville Telephone Company. “This project leverages the resources of three local service providers along with multiple economic development agencies all working together to develop the most cost-effective business model. The construction and operational efficiencies introduced were a key component to our funding success and will be essential for long-term project sustainment.”

Delaware County Electric Cooperative General Manager, Mark Schneider is enthusiastic about the opportunity to bring broadband to its members. “We recognize that broadband is vital to educational and economic opportunities for our rural members and is akin to the need for electricity by farmers in the 1940s. We are excited to partner on this project for the betterment of our members.”

Delhi Telephone Company General Manager, Jason Miller explains the challenges of extending facilities into rural regions. “Broadband is becoming an essential part of our daily lives. Without this grant award and the collaborative efforts being put forth, it would be nearly impossible to realize a broadband expansion of anywhere near this scale and scope. Residents located in the rural, un-served regions of our community will now have access to educational, employment and telemedicine opportunities.”

Construction of the fiber optic network will commence once contracts are in place with the NYS Empire State Development Agency and is scheduled to take two years to complete. Services will become available as network segments are activated throughout the construction time-frame. Efforts by the partner companies to secure additional funding will continue to address un-served and under-served residents who are not included within this project area.

Additional information concerning the DCBI project going forward will be posted on each of the partner company’s web-sites (www.mtctelcom.com, www.delhitel.com, and www.dce.coop).

Click here to view maps for phase one