Network will serve more than 1,000 homes and businesses
Press release by Phil Pantano, Pantano & Associates, L.L.C.
Cattaraugus Territory (Irving, NY) – The Seneca Nation is taking an important step toward closing the digital divide on the Cattaraugus Territory with a major investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Nation leaders were joined by USDA officials today to announce a $4.3 million grant through the USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program. The Nation will use the award, along with its own $1.5 million investment, to establish a fiber-to-home broadband network on the Cattaraugus Territory. Once complete, the network will provide connectivity to more than 1,000 households, businesses, Nation buildings and critical community facilities on the Cattaraugus Territory.
“Access to reliable, quality internet service is critical in today’s age,” said Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong, Sr. “There is a severe and unfortunate digital divide that exists here, just as it does in rural communities across the country. Our people should not be placed at this severe disadvantage. Bringing this service to Cattaraugus will greatly impact areas like education, healthcare and the overall quality of life for the Seneca people.”
In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America. USDA received 146 applications for the ReConnect program between May 31, 2019, and July 12, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding across all three ReConnect Program funding products: 100 percent loan, 100 percent grant, and loan-grant combinations. These grants, loans and combination funds enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection speeds of less than 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload.
Under the grant program, the Seneca Nation, through Seneca Telecommunications, will install 43 miles of aerial fiber across the Cattaraugus Territory. The network will be capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater.
“Our core mission at USDA is to increase rural prosperity, and this mission cannot be achieved without addressing the digital divide our rural communities face due to a lack of high-speed broadband internet connection,” USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural communities in deploying this critical infrastructure, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”
The Seneca network will not only provide internet and voice service to residents of the Cattaraugus Territory, but important community facilities as well, such as the Nation’s administration building, the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Department, the Early Childhood Learning Center, library, public works and utility departments, community center, and other facilities where the Nation provides important services to the Seneca people.
“This service simply doesn’t exist in Cattaraugus today,” said Seneca Nation Treasurer Matt Pagels. “Geographically, we are only a short drive away from the second-largest city in New York, but digitally, we are generations behind. We are changing that.”
Work on the network is expected to take approximately 2-3 years, from engineering and design through construction.
