Onondaga, N.Y. – Onondaga County announces today that it has selected Verizon to deploy broadband in several communities in this Central New York area.
With $11.1 million in funding provided as part of the American Rescue plan and a nearly $7 million dollar investment from Verizon, almost $18 million will be spent on bringing all-fiber, high-speed broadband services to over 1,500 locations in the County. “Click” to download: Onondaga County Broadband Project Service Areas 2022
“Verizon is focused on delivering broadband service, and the major economic benefits associated with it, to Central New York,” said Kevin Service, Senior Vice President of Wireline Network Operations for Verizon. “We are pleased to work with Onondaga County to achieve our common goal of increasing broadband access for unserved and underserved areas in the State. This project will significantly help to close the digital divide in that region.”
“Onondaga County is proud of this initiative and pleased to help deliver this vital service to our rural residents,” County Executive Ryan McMahon said. “Verizon’s choice to partner with us and invest in the County is another indicator of the resurgence that is occurring here. Moving forward with FiOS broadband is a huge competitive advantage and will help our residents recover more quickly from the economic impact of the pandemic. It also provides vastly greater data capacity at a time that virtually every consumer is relying more on online services to function remotely. It will also set the stage for increased competition in the data and voice sectors.”
Verizon’s bid was supported by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
“On behalf of our members, we are pleased to offer our endorsement of Verizon’s bid to work with Onondaga County and build a state-of-the-art fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to unserved and underserved locations in the County,” said Dennis G. Trainor Vice President, CWA District 1. “Verizon has unparalleled experience in FTTP broadband in Onondaga County and has a directly employed, highly skilled and well-trained union workforce with a proven track record of delivering broadband service with incredible speed, reliability and quality to New Yorkers.”
“We applaud County Executive Ryan McMahon and the County Legislature for their leadership in establishing this robust broadband program in Central New York,” said Anthony Lewis, Vice President of State Government Affairs for Verizon. “At Verizon, we don’t wait for the future, we build it. This historic partnership will expand high-speed broadband access to thousands of county residents and will better connect our communities. This work will be done by our highly skilled workforce and will enable New Yorkers to better compete in the global economy. We look forward to similar opportunities in other communities as they arise.”
Verizon will leverage its supplier relationships to meet the goals set by Onondaga County related to Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE). Anticipated suppliers include New York-based Corning Incorporated, and Onondaga County-based Right Price Companies (RPC technology) which are expected to supply Verizon with fiber optics cable and other materials.
In 2021, Verizon invested over $2 billion in its wireline and wireless networks and currently employs more than 13,000 people in New York State. Opportunities like this one in Onondaga County will leverage those investments and help expand their reach. Verizon recently completed its rural broadband grant build in partnership with New York State and the FCC to deliver super-fast broadband fiber service (speeds between 300MB up to 1Gig) to over 48,000 residents in rural Upstate New York. Despite the impact of the COVID pandemic, we deployed over 3,000 miles of fiber (the equivalent of running fiber between NYC & Sacramento) in connection with that build.
The Best Network and Services and No Data Caps
Verizon’s all-fiber network will deliver our award-winning Fios broadband service with wired speeds of up to 940 Mbps downstream / 880 Mbps upstream, and no data caps. Customers who subscribe to Fios broadband service will have access to a wide range of Fios service plans that deliver at least 300 Mbps for both downloads and uploads starting at just $25 per month with auto pay and select 5G mobile plans. In addition, those who qualify for the Federal Communication Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program in partnership with the Verizon Forward Program can get free Verizon Home Internet with no upfront fees, annual contracts, equipment chargers, or data caps.
Verizon has won multiple awards for both our technology and our customer service. Fios has been rated #1 in speed and reliability 12 years in a row, and is more likely than Comcast, Spectrum, Optimum, and Cox to be recommended by customers to friends and family.
