The Margaretville Telephone Company and MTC Cable Announce the Completion of Six Broadband Expansion
More Than 8,600 Households and Businesses Gain Broadband Access Over 700 miles of New Fiber Optic and Upgraded Cable Television Facilities Installed Throughout the Rural Central Catskill Mountain Region Offering 100 Mbps - 1000 Mbps High-Speed Internet Capability
Margaretville, NY (June 24, 2019) – The Margaretville Telephone Company, along with its cable television subsidiary MTC Cable, (collectively, MTC) is proud to announce the completion of six New NY Broadband Program projects designed to extend high-speed broadband Internet access to more than 8,600 homes and businesses in unserved and underserved rural areas in the Central Catskill Mountain Region. Over 700 miles of new fiber optic cable construction and network upgrades to existing broadband facilities have been completed across 18 rural communities throughout portions of Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties as part of Phase I and Phase II grant awards from the New NY Broadband Program. Network construction continues on an additional 165 miles of fiber-optic cable on the MTC Central Catskills Broadband Initiative Project, a New NY Broadband Program Phase III awarded project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.
“We congratulate the Margaretville Telephone Company and MTC Cable on their expansion of high-speed internet service in partnership with the Broadband Program Office,” said Jeffrey Nordhaus, Empire State Development Executive Vice President of Innovation and Broadband. “Broadband is a necessity for all communities in today’s economy and this launch will bring high-speed internet to over 8,600 homes and businesses across the State.”
“We are excited to make the transition from the construction phase of these projects over to focusing on connecting residents to the new broadband networks,” explains Glen Faulkner, General Manager of MTC. “Many of the residents in these communities have been waiting for many years to have broadband services available. In today’s world, having access to reliable broadband service plays a key role in many aspects of our daily lives. Governor Cuomo’s commitment to leveraging public/private investment as a means to facilitate broadband expansion into the rural segments of our region is critical to the economic health and future sustainment of our communities.”
“The expansion of broadband services into our underserved areas is critical to maintaining and growing our local economy,” said Delaware County Chamber of Commerce President Ray Pucci. "Not only do business owners rely on consistent reliable service, but local residents connect to worldwide resources while enjoying a high quality of life. These great results show what can happen when private businesses create collaborative relationships with government to solve real issues.” added Pucci.
Frustration has turned to excitement for residents of the Lexington Community noted Lexington Broadband Committee Chairperson Bonnie Blader. “The availability of advanced telecommunications services made possible by funding from the New NY Broadband Program provided our community the opportunity we needed to push past the critical tipping points that signal a town is renewing itself!”
MTC has leveraged over $35 million in public / private funding in support of its broadband expansion efforts since 2013. The completion of MTC’s New NY Broadband Phase I and Phase II projects contributed over $12.5 million in State funding matched by nearly $5 million in private funding to support broadband expansion projects. The New NY Broadband Program was developed to help fund the expansion of high-speed Internet service to unserved and underserved areas of New York State. These new and upgraded networks will enable broadband connectivity with the capacity to deliver broadband services of 100 Megabits per-second (Mbps) speeds and greater throughout the project areas.
Residents interested in broadband service can contact MTC at 877-727-2288.
About the Margaretville Telephone Company
The Margaretville Telephone Company is an independent, employee owned telecommunications company providing voice, video, broadband, and advanced fiber-based services to residential and business customers within the Central Catskills Region. MTC is based in Margaretville, New York and currently employs 38 full-time employees.
About the New NY Broadband Program
Recognizing the importance of broadband infrastructure and building on prior State investments in broadband deployment, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2015, with legislative support, established the $500 million New NY Broadband Program. The Program provides New York State grant funding to support projects that deliver high-speed Internet access to unserved and underserved areas of the State, with priority to unserved areas, Libraries, and Educational Opportunity Centers.
