The following article was published by Broadband Breakfast:
The New York State Assembly passed on Thursday a budget bill without language that would have hindered the deployment of publicly owned broadband networks, advocates say.
The proposed amendment would have altered the state’s ConnectAll Municipal Infrastructure Program, which makes nearly $230 million available for local governments and nonprofits to expand broadband infrastructure.
The change would have limited funds from the program to “unserved and underserved locations only,” meaning areas that broadband coverage data shows have access to internet speeds below 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload. With that language stricken, municipalities will have more leeway to decide where to build networks funded by the program.
“I applaud the New York State Legislature for standing up to backroom attempts by incumbent cable lobbyists to undermine community broadband,” American Association for Public Broadband Executive Director Gigi Sohn said in a statement.
The full article is available here.