Wayne County begins project to expand broadband internet

WAYNE COUNTY, N.Y. — Wayne County on Monday is starting a project to improve its broadband internet using $8 million of its federal American Rescue Plan funding.

The goal is to expand broadband internet across the entire county by the end of 2025. The funding will help to create 1,400 new broadband “passings”, meaning any location where homes or businesses can connect to a fiber running along a road.

The project aims to bridge the digital divide in the Finger Lakes by bringing high-speed internet to underserved, rural communities. Wayne County received a total of $17 million through the American Rescue Plan.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement about the broadband project in Wayne County.

“Today is the start of connecting Wayne County to the future and a better quality of life for our rural families so that they can access the high-speed internet they need to succeed,” he said.

Genesee County and other areas of the state are also getting a boost in broadband because of $670 million in funding under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. News10NBC spoke with the town supervisor of Pavilion in Genesee County about the increasing importance for high-speed internet since the pandemic.