ALBANY COUNTY — Broadband will be expanded in Albany County, but to what extent remains to be seen. 

The Albany County Legislature has authorized the broadband plans the county has devised for two different funding scenarios: one where the county receives state aid, and one where it uses only its own funding.

If the county does not receive funding through New York State’s ConnectALL county partnership program, it will still provide $2.9 million to State Tel and Mid-Hudson Cable to bring broadband service to an estimated 591 homes in Coeymans and Rensselaerville. The funding is from federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, for pandemic relief.

If the county does receive state assistance, it will provide over $7 million to those same companies, along with Charter Spectrum and Archtop, bringing broadband to 1,142 homes in Coeymans, Berne, Westerlo, Rensselaerville, Knox, New Scotland, and Bethlehem. 

The funding allows companies to ignore the cost-effectiveness of installing broadband infrastructure on their own dime, which has been one of the largest obstacles to broadband access in rural areas. 

Hudson Valley Wireless General Manager Jason Guzzo told The Enterprise in 2020 that “many of the rural communities would already have broadband access if it were profitable for a provider to deploy service. Rural communities are typically high-cost and low-density.”

He explained that the last 1 or 2 percent of homes could require 80 percent of the cost of the whole network. 

For the projects selected for the no-state-funding scenario, “cost-effectiveness was probably the biggest differentiator,” according to Economic Development and Sustainability Coordinator Lucas Rogers who communicated with The Enterprise through the county spokeswoman.