Hochul: “If you don’t have it,
you’re gasping for air”
POUGHKEEPSIE – The Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council Wednesday announced new developments within the region for 2016.
The council, along with Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, put a real emphasis on broadband connectivity for the region. Hochul said that with the New NY Broadband Program, which was launched on January 8, the governor is, “laser focused” on the Mid-Hudson region and compared broadband to being as necessary as respiration for anyone living in the civilized world today.
“When I go all over the state and I’m speaking to business groups and people in academia and just families, when I mention the word, ‘broadband’, everybody pays attention,” said Hochul. “It’s like breathing; if you have it, you take it for granted, if you’ve got high speed broadband, you never think. If you don’t have it, you’re gasping for air; you’re not competing if you’re a business.”
Unfortunately, in certain parts of the Mid-Hudson region, for example Sullivan County, have areas where there is no broadband and if you’re a Time Warner Cable customer in the region, you’re not even receiving service that is consistent with the definition of broadband. This means that Time Warner Cable customers, currently, are receiving a data-transmission speed of 50 mega-bites per second. The definition of broadband, according to Jeff Nordhaus, executive vice president of innovation and broadband for the MREDC, is 100 mega-bites per second. Many Time Warner customers may have already noticed the mail from the company stating their Internet speed would soon be doubled; this is what they mean. This is the result of the state Public Service reviewing the Time Warner –Charter merger. It will put broadband in 145,000 unserved areas and by 2019, will have an increased download speed of 300 mega-bites per second.
MREDC Director Megan Taylor said, “This is a very strong focus of the Governor’s office and I think, extremely pivotal in the success of economic development, not only in the Mid-Hudson but, throughout the state.”
An exception for the most remote areas in the region, which are vague, will be a download speed of 25 mega-bites per second to meet the criterion. The idea is to get broadband where it wasn’t available in the region before as first priority.
Nordhaus said, “A modern broadband network is key to economic growth and commerce.”
The request for proposals portal for the New NY Broadband Program will open on March 1 and bids will be due by April 1. The bidding process will be a “reverse auction,” in which the lowest price will be awarded the contract. This broadband program will be the most unique in the country, as far as its broadband speed requirements.
