THAT
THAT WE
THAT WE BROUGHT YOU A SPECIAL REPORT FOCUSED ON
BROADBAND INTERNET
COVERAGE IN
WESTERN NEW YORK.
SPECIFICALLY... WHY
STATE LAWMAKERS'
CLAIMS THAT THE STATE
HAS 100-PERCENT
COVERAGE - ISN'T
TRUE.
AND TONIGHT... WE'RE
LOOKING AT TWO
WESTERN NEW YORK
COUNTIES... THAT SEEM
TO BE IN LIMBO...
COMPARED TO OTHERS
WHEN IT COMES TO
HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
ACCESS.
NATE BENSON BRINGS
US THE SECOND PART...
OF THIS 2-ON-YOUR-
SIDE ORIGINAL REPORT.
WE
WE REPORTED ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES WE AND OTHERS
IDENTIFIED WITH THE
NEW YORK BROADBAND
PROGRAM.
NOW, I WANT TO DIG
INTO THE DATA A LITTLE
MORE AND
SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT
SOME GLARING
NUMBERS IN NIAGARA
AND ORLEANS COUNTY.
WHEN THE BROADBAND
PROGRAM AWARDED
MONEY TO SERVICE
PROVIDERS I NOTICED
SIGNIFICANT MONEY
WENT TO ALLEGANY,
CATTARAUGUS AND
CHAUTAUQUA
COUNTIES. I'M NOT
IMPLYING THOSE
COUNTIES WEREN'T
DESERVING, BUT
COLLECTIVELY, THOSE
THREE COUNTIES
RECEIVED $70+M IN
BROADBAND PROJECTS
FROM THE PROGRAM.
NIAGARA AND ORLEANS
COUNTY REVIVED LESS
THAN $2M
DOES THIS MEAN THERE
IS LESS DEMAND FOR
BROADBAND IN NIAGARA
AND ORLEANS COUNTY?
ORLEANS COUNTY
LEGISLATOR LYNNE
JOHNSON AND NIAGARA
COUNTY LEGISLATOR
DAVID GODFREY HAVE
BEEN WORKING ON THE
RURAL BROADBAND
ISSUE FOR NEARLY A
DECADE.
" WE DON'T HAVE
INTERNET COVERAGE
100% WE'RE NOWHERE
NEAR WHERE WE
SHOULD BE AN
INTERNET COVERAGE. I
STILL HAVE IN MY
COUNTY WHERE WE
HAVE TO DELIVER,
WE'RE UNDER NEW
COURT REFORMS. AND
WE HAVE OUR SHERIFF'S
DEPARTMENT THAT
ACTUALLY HAS TO BURN
CDS AND WALK THEM TO
THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE,
BECAUSE WE DON'T
HAVE THE UPLOAD
SPEEDS WITH THE NEW
COURT REFORMS."
JOHNSON AND
GODFREY STARTED
LOOKING AT SOLUTIONS
FOR THE RURAL
BROADBAND PROBLEM
NEARLY A DECADE AGO.
AT ONE TIME THE TWO
LEGISLATORS HAD
MADE HEADWAY WITH A
SERVICE PROVIDER
THAT WOULD PROVIDE
BROADBAND SPEEDS
TO BOTH NIAGARA AND
ORLEANS COUNTIES
" WE STARTED OUT
WHEN THE GOVERNOR
CAME OUT WITH HIS $500
MILLION FOR RURAL
BROADBAND. AND WE
WERE POSITIONED TO
APPLY, WE LOCATED A
VENDOR WHO WAS
WILLING TO DO THE
RURAL BUILD OUT. AND
WHAT HAPPENED
DURING THAT PROCESS
IS WE GOT TIED UP WITH
THE CHARTER TIME
WARNER MERGER,
WHICH BECAME
SPECTRUM. BECAUSE
OF THAT, WE WERE
UNABLE TO BID
BECAUSE THEY CLAIM
THE CENSUS BLOCKS
WITHIN THEIR SERVICE
AREA, WHICH EXCLUDED
US FROM BIDDING"
THE
THE TIME
THE TIME WARNER CABLE AND CHARTER MERGER FINALIZED IN
MAY OF 2016. NEW
YORK STATE MANDATED
THAT CHARTER WOULD
NEED TO CONNECT
145,000 HOMES THAT
WERE UNDERSERVED
OR UNSERVED.
ACCORDING TO
LAWMAKERS I SPOKE
WITH, LARGE SWATHS
OF NIAGARA AND
ORLEANS COUNTY
WERE SUPPOSED TO BE
UPGRADED OR
CONNECTED TO THE
CHARTER SYSTEM. SO
NOW THREE AND A HALF
YEARS SINCE THE
CHARTER MERGER,
THOSE HOMES HAVE
BEEN CONNECTED
RIGHT?
IN ITS LATEST FILING
WITH THE NEW YORK
STATE PUBLIC SERVICE
COMMISSION CHARTER
SAID IT HAS
COMPLETED 88,101
PASSING AS PART OF
THEIR COMMITMENT,
BUT IMMEDIATELY FILED
CONFIDENTIALITY
MOTIONS WITH THE
P.S.C. IN ORDER TO NOT
PUBLICLY REVEAL TO
CONSUMERS WHERE
THEY EXPANDED
BROADBAND SERVICE.
A REPRESENTATIVE
REFUSED TO ANSWER 2
ON YOUR SIDE AS TO
HOW MANY HOMES
THEY'VE CONNECTED IN
NIAGARA AND ORLEANS
COUNTY AS PART OF
THEIR OBLIGATION.
OFFICIALS I SPOKE TO
ESTIMATE THAT EVEN
THOUGH FCC DATA
SAYS OTHERWISE,
THOUSANDS OF
HOUSING UNITS IN
NIAGARA AND ORLEANS
COUNTY REMAIN
UNSERVED, OR ARE
DRASTICALLY
UNDERSERVED.
DRASTICALLY UNDERSERVED.
UNDERSERVED.
"
" IT
" IT WAS
" IT WAS DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE BY THE PSC BY THE STATE
BROADBAND OFFICE
AND BY CHARTER THAT
LED US TO WHERE WE
ARE. BUT IT'S ALSO
FRUSTRATING FOR ME
TO HEAR THE
GOVERNOR AND
OTHERS TALK ABOUT
THIS LIKE IT'S A HUGE
SUCCESS, YOU KNOW,
VICTORY MISSION
ACCOMPLISHED, WHEN
NOTHING COULD BE
FURTHER FROM THE
TRUTH,"
WHEN YOU TALK TO
RESIDENTS IN THE
COUNTIES ABOUT THE
ISSUE, THEY'RE
FRUSTRATED. MAINLY
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN
GIVE THEM A STRAIGHT
ANSWER.
" "WE'RE TELLING OUR
TAXPAYERS AS WE TELL
THEM EVERY DAY TO BE
PATIENT. WE'RE DOING
EVERYTHING WE
POSSIBLY CAN TO
ENTICE A VENDOR OUT
HERE"
"
HERE" "
HERE" " AND AS THE DAYS,
WEEKS, MONTHS AND
YEAR GO
BY..RESIDENTS,
FARMERS AND
BUSINESS OWNERS IN
NIAGARA AND ORLEANS
COUNTY CONTINUE TO
WAIT. HOPING TO GET
CONNECTED.
CONNECTED.
NATE...
NATE... YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING INTO THIS FOR MONTHS AND HAD
REPORTS LAST NIGHT
AND AGAIN TONIGHT.
WHAT SURPRISED YOU
DURING THIS WHOLE
PROCESS?
PROCESS?