New York on Pace to get 25 Mbps to All by 2018

New York State officials say they're on pace to deliver 25 Mbps broadband to everyone in the state by 2018. The State of New York has dedicated $500 million to ensuring that the FCC's standard definition of broadband (25 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up) is available uniformly across the state. The state's New York Broadband for All program recently extended its deadline for ISPs to apply for grants to bring increased connectivity to rural areas in particular. Still, the project says it's on target to meet its goal of uniform 25 Mbps availability.

That said, it's worth noting that New York State was already ranked the fourth-most-connected state in the nation, with speeds of 25 Mbps available to 98 percent of New York's 19.7 million residents.

To fill out the remainder of the coverage gaps, the state is working with ISPs like Armstrong, Frontier, TDS and The Middleburgh Telephone Company to push coaxial cable, fiber and 4G (and eventually 5G) wireless into under-served areas. All told, the effort should bring broadband to tens of thousands of mostly-rural homes that previously lacked service of any kind.

"in the second phase of the program, the state reported that more than $268 million in public-private investment has gone to 50-plus projects that will connect about 90,000 homes and institutions in unserved and underserved communities," notes a report over at State Scoop (hat tip, Fierce Telecom).

Of course filling in availability gaps is only half the battle. Most of these areas will still only have the option of one ISP -- and ISP that will face little to no competitive pressure to keep these lines upgrades or to provide lower rates. Still, it's a step forward all the same.