MONTICELLO, NY — There’s lot of talk about the importance of improving broadband coverage, especially in rural areas.

New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a statewide survey to identify the prevalence and reach of broadband services on September 27. Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19), who serves on the Rural Broadband Task Force, brought a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner to Hudson for a field hearing on rural broadband access on October 4.

In September, the New York State comptroller’s office released a report showing that the state’s focus on broadband isn’t a new development.

Since 2007, the state has spent millions on improving broadband speed and reliability according to that report. There has been a certain degree of success. The report cites FCC figures that indicate the numbers of New Yorkers without available broadband dropped from 518,000 in 2013 to 253,000 in 2019.

But there’s a difference between availability (whether an internet service provider offers broadband within a given region) and access (whether a household within said region can subscribe to that service), and according to the comptroller’s report, 14.3 percent of households within Sullivan County lack broadband access, despite only 0.5 percent of the county’s population lacking availability.

Across the state, that gap is apparent for low-income households—36.2 percent of households making less than $20,000 were without access to broadband in 2019—and for households with lower educational attainment.

“I think the success of some of these programs [is] mixed, because it’s been happening for a while, and you’ve still got large areas that are just unserved,” says Mike Brooks, District 3 legislator in Sullivan County. “I question the efficiencies of it all.”

Brooks has spent his private career in the technological world, and is currently employed as a telecommunications specialist with the Center for Discovery. He’s bringing that expertise to the public as the chairman of the county’s broadband LDC, an initiative that aims to fill the gap left by statewide programs and private businesses.

The LDC was established by the Sullivan County Legislature as a creative solution to the area’s broadband challenge. It’s a nonprofit corporation provided with $100,000 from the county as seed funding, and assisted by in-kind contributions of time from county employees.

It’s not Sullivan County getting into the broadband business, or attempting to compete with private internet service providers. It’s the legislature kick-starting a new business, one that will become an entirely independent corporation and repay its initial $100,000 in funding. “Government shouldn’t be competing with private business,” says Brooks. “There’s no place for that.”

The LDC plans to provide broadband service by outfitting each of the county’s public safety towers with equipment to transmit a wireless broadband signal. Households who subscribe will outfit their houses with receivers for that wireless signal.

The ultimate goal is to provide coverage to, as close as possible, 100 percent of Sullivan County residents.

It’s a unique solution to the problem of rural broadband access, says Brooks. “Nothing would be more gratifying than to have this very unique solution move forward, and [to] actually provide this service for folks.”

For all the talk of broadband’s importance, and for all of the money available to improve it, there’s still a while to wait before the LDC can provide that service.

The LDC is requesting federal grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to establish its systems. Approval for that grant seems likely, says Brooks, but the bureaucracy involved, in addition to a recent change in how that grant is funded, has led to the process taking much longer than expected.

Once the grant is approved, there may be further delays owing to slowdowns in the global supply chain. The LDC needs to purchase equipment to set up service, and that equipment may take some time to arrive once purchased.

Still, Brooks is optimistic about the future of the project, and of the possibilities for broadband coverage in Sullivan County. “I always looked at 2022 as being a really, really busy year,” says Brooks. “And I still think that’s the case.”