Madison County ReConnect Broadband Project

**Please note that this page will be updated as we have more information and the project moves forward.  Last update: March 1, 2023**

CNY Central Story from October 3, 2022 

Project Highlights:

1. The Madison County ReConnect Project is funded by a USDA Rural Development ReConnect Grant for construction of a capable fiber optic broadband network, leased to Empire Access to reach unserved/underserved homes, businesses, and farms in our County.
2. In July 2021, Madison County was one of two New York State projects awarded the Grant. The $16M project includes $10.1M in USDA grant monies, $3.38M from Madison County (required 25% match) and $2.3 M from Empire Access.
3. The initial build out of the broadband to the Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA) will connect 1,087 households, 50 farms, and 30 businesses to high-speed broadband.  To serve these areas, lines will be run in almost a circle through the County.  The plan is after the initial build-out, Empire Access will be able to provide service to communities along that route, and be a major competitor for our existing providers. 

PFSA's (Proposed Funded Service Areas):

1. The Proposed Funded Service Area (PFSA) of the Project are the areas that were approved by USDA for build-out using the Grant monies. See the map below of the current PFSA's.  You can zoom in/out to see more detail.  
   • To find out if service will be available in your area, go to Empire Access's map at this link: https://www.empireaccess.com/where-we-are/madison. The areas shaded in yellow are in Madison County.  You can also type in your address. 
2. There are very specific definitions of what addresses and locations can and cannot be included.  
   • Unserved / underserved is defined as <10Mbps download and <1Mbps upload. 
   • It cannot be in an area that previously received Grant monies (state or federal).
   • 90% of the premises in the area must be unserved/underserved to be included.

Current Status of Project:

October 19, 2022 - Fielding the backbone of the fiber network is complete.  Madison County is beginning applications for pole attachment agreements. 

September 21, 2022 - Madison County has awarded an RFP to Graybar for Fiber Optic Cable.  

July 6, 2022 - Engineers from NY Engineering Services are out in the community surveying poles and the route for the fiber backbone. The engineers have been out since June 12 and are currently working to survey the section of the network that will run between Oneida, Wampsville, Canastota, Chittenango and Cazenovia. The map below highlights, in green, where the engineers have conducted field mapping.  The map will be updated weekly to show the progress. 

May 31, 2022 - Madison County, Empire Access, New York Engineering Services, and ECC Technologies held a construction kickoff meeting.  In the coming weeks a full construction schedule will be announced.  This process will take a few years to complete, but it is moving forward.  

May 10, 2022 - Board of Supervisors Award Contract for broadband network operation to Empire Long Distance. 

May 10, 2022 - Board of Supervisors approve using $3.3 mil of Fund Balance to pay for the Madison County share of the USDA Reconnect Grant to build the FTTP Broadband Network. By using fund balance that we currently have, it will save residents hundreds of thousands if the County had bonded the project. 

April 12, 2022 - Board of Supervisors Award Contract to YES Michigan PC, DBA "New York Engineering Services" to design, permit, and manage the construction of the Madison County Last-Mile Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) Broadband Network.