MAYVILLE — The County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA), in close collaboration with the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development, announced significant progress in expanding broadband access to unserved and underserved locations across the county. These advancements follow years of focused planning, infrastructure analysis, and agency coordination aimed at closing the digital divide for rural residents, businesses, and community institutions.

As the Covid-19 pandemic made abundantly clear, there are still many areas within Chautauqua County that do not have access to high-speed broadband internet. In recognition of the need to focus on critical infrastructure and economic resiliency, changes in the way people work and do business, and enhancing opportunities for entrepreneurship and business development, Chautauqua County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) working group identified the Broadband Infrastructure Project as one of the County’s top priority community and economic development projects.

The County authorized and contracted with the CCIDA to allocate $1 million dollars in ARPA funding to identify and work with the various stakeholders to define a strategic solution and accompanying action plan for implementation; develop a funding strategy based on available funding opportunities; assist in the development and submission of grant proposals; and assist in Request for Proposals (RFP) and vendor solicitation to reach unserved and underserved addresses in Chautauqua County.

With the help of ECC Technologies, in 2024 the CCIDA was able to identify over 4,000 unserved and underserved addresses throughout the county. Four zones were then established, based on geographic location of the addresses and current internet service providers’ territories. An RFP was then developed and released to internet service providers (ISPs), with three ISPs submitting proposals.

In 2025, DFT Communications was awarded 50% grant funding to support fiber deployment at 385 of those 4,000+ addresses in Zone 3, located within the Dunkirk, Sheridan, and Pomfret region of Chautauqua County. This investment will accelerate the construction of last-mile infrastructure, directly addressing long-standing coverage gaps and improving service quality for residents, farms, and small businesses. DFT is on schedule to complete those connections by 2027. Also in 2025, the City of Jamestown was awarded $29.6 million in New York State ConnectALL funding to assist with the Jamestown Open Access Broadband Utility project.

Just this past month, Chautauqua County also benefited from substantial state and federal broadband investments that will deliver high-speed internet to thousands of other locations currently lacking reliable service. This includes the latest round of the New York State ConnectALL Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program awards, totaling over $23 million in grant funding awarded to three ISPs. As part of the statewide effort to expand high-speed fiber and satellite broadband, the ConnectALL office had to seek and receive approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to approve the three ISPs to provide fiber and satellite technology in Chautauqua County. These providers were approved and include:

Spectrum Northeast, LLC will receive $19,673,080 in grant funding to service 2,454 locations with fiber connections. This expansion represents one of the largest single-provider broadband investments in the region, targeting rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. will receive $886,500 in grant funding to service 591 locations through satellite connections. Starlink’s award will serve remote areas where traditional infrastructure is challenging to deploy, offering reliable satellite internet options to households and businesses.

Fidium Enterprise Services, LLC will receive $2.5 million in grant funding to service 472 locations with fiber connections. Fidium will extend fiber-based service to underserved pockets of the county, complementing existing infrastructure upgrades.

Combined, these BEAD projects will bring high-speed broadband to 3,517 locations. There is no specific region or community that will be targeted through these funds. Instead, the affected locations are found in various rural areas throughout the entire county.

“Chautauqua County has been strategic and persistent in its efforts to secure broadband investment,” said Paul “PJ” Wendel, Chautauqua County Executive “These recent grant awards are the result of years of groundwork by the CCIDA and County Department of Planning & Development to ensure that every corner of our county has access to the high-speed internet that modern life and economic development demand.”

“Broadband is essential infrastructure, just like water, sewer, and electric. This initiative reflects a strong partnership between the CCIDA, County Planning, local providers, and the ConnectALL Office resulting in nearly 4,000 unserved and underserved locations to be served. Together we are making transformative progress for our current and future residents and businesses,” said Mark Geise, Deputy Chautauqua County Executive for Economic Development and CCIDA CEO. “Over the coming months, the awarded providers will begin detailed engineering, permitting, and construction planning. Simultaneously, County and State officials will work closely with providers to support project timelines, coordinate on local infrastructure needs, and ensure clear communication with the public. Special recognition needs to be made to Rebecca Wurster, County Planning Coordinator, as well as ECC Technologies, for their gallant efforts in bringing this to fruition.”

Chautauqua County anticipates that the BEAD projects will launch in 2026, and it is estimated that these projects will take approximately three to five years to complete. Additional information on ConnectALL’s Broadband Deployment Plans can be found at Broadband.NY.gov/broadband-deployment-plans.