We are receiving many questions about the recent news relating to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband funding (BEAD) which is being allocated to New York State in the amount of $670 million. The recent news was an announcement that NY State will eventually receive this amount of funding starting in 2024 under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program administered by the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration).
Otsego Electric Cooperative and our broadband subsidiary, OEConnect, have not received any of this money to date and nobody else has either. New York State has not opened an application process to obtain more funding yet. When NY opens the program and designates on maps exactly which areas the funding will be made available, OEC will consider the opportunities at that time. OEC is currently building over 100 miles of new extensions in areas that were designated by the FCC Rural Development Opportunity Fund in 23 different areas in Otsego County and two other adjoining counties.