Four Mobile Service Innovations To Enhance Connectivity in Nassau, Otsego, Schenectady and Warren Counties
Grants in Allegany and Broome Counties Will Connect Over 800 Households With New Broadband Service
New ConnectALL RFAs Target Innovative Business Models, Breakthrough Fiber Deployment Strategies and Local Planning Efforts
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $5.2 million in new awards for four Connectivity Innovations to expand mobile service in Nassau, Otsego, Schenectady and Warren counties. The Governor also announced over $10 million in awards under the ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Program and Affordable Housing Connectivity Program. ConnectALL is also launching three new funding opportunities. Together with the state’s first-ever statewide mobile service coverage tests — now underway to map coverage gaps along thousands of miles of roads and corridors — these actions advance New York’s commitment to ensuring universal, reliable mobile and broadband access.
“Reliable mobile service is vital to New York’s economy and critical to driving innovation, jobs and opportunity statewide,” Governor Hochul said. “These new awards and innovative RFAs, combined with our groundbreaking wireless drive testing, will ensure every New Yorker — no matter where they live — has access to the connectivity they need to learn, work and thrive.”
Senator Charles Schumer said, “Access to high-speed internet is not a luxury, but a necessity, a utility as vital as electricity for everyday life. I’m proud to deliver millions in federal funding to help close the digital divide for hundreds of families from Allegany County to Lake George. When I led the American Rescue Plan to passage, I made sure there was funding for long-term investments like this that would create good-paying jobs helping build the 21st-century infrastructure needed to make high-speed internet reach every corner of the state. I’m grateful for Governor Hochul’s work putting these federal dollars to work to ensure all New Yorkers have access to the internet that they need.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “From helping students learn to connecting small businesses with the digital economy, mobile service and broadband is a fundamental necessity and a driver of growth. These new awards will help ensure every community across our state has the reliable connectivity they deserve — and in Washington, I will keep fighting to deliver the funding necessary to expand broadband to every New Yorker.”
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “From rural Otsego County to downtown Schenectady, ConnectALL is advancing creative, community-driven projects that address both immediate connectivity gaps and long-term infrastructure needs. These investments reflect our commitment to ensuring mobile service and broadband access for all New Yorkers, while building the innovative models that will drive equity and competitiveness across New York tomorrow.”
In response to Governor Hochul’s 2025 State of the State directive, ConnectALL launched a statewide data collection and regional planning process to improve mobile signal coverage. ConnectALL has begun this effort in the North Country, in partnership with the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board, and is conducting tests of mobile signal coverage along major travel corridors and throughout the Adirondack and Catskill Regions.