Light Up Livingston
Light Up Livingston is Livingston County’s initiative in response to the need for high-speed affordable broadband service in the County. The initiative, led by the Livingston County Board of Supervisors Broadband Committee, seeks to provide access to high-speed, fiber-optic internet to every address in the county. This effort is comprised of several phases, internet service providers and grant opportunities where available.
Livingston County is dedicated to improving the high-speed broadband network to enrich the quality of life for residents, ensure that economic development opportunities are available for agriculture and businesses and have a positive impact on education, telemedicine, emergency services, the local economy and home values.
Livingston County recognizes the vital importance of broadband access. There have been technical studies which acknowledge the need for improved access to broadband internet. These studies include the County’s Strategic Plan, the County’s anti-poverty initiative called THRIVE LivINgston, the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan, and the Livingston County Economic Development Strategic Plan.
What is Broadband?
Broadband is defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as an Internet connection with at least 100 Mbps download speed and 20 Mbps upload speed. The widely accepted technology to achieve these speeds, and future proof infrastructure, are Fiber Optics. However, CoAx cable and some wireless technologies are capable of achieving these speeds as well.
The FCC also expanded on the definition to include service tiers based on latency. These are Served, Underserved, and Unserved. Subsequently, every address in the nation has been turned into what is known as a Broadband Serviceable Location, or BSL on the most recent FCC BSL Fabric. Each Broadband Serviceable Location (BSL) is categorized in this fashion. This fabric is the driver for the most recent grant allocations from the NTIA.
In order to achieve the goals of the program, a tiered approach has been identified to strategically capitalize on local investment paired with grant funding.
| Tier | Service Level | FCC Definition | County Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 |
Unserved | All service that is not low-latency or less than 25/3 Mbps, and all Geostationary Satellite, Non-geostationary Satellite, Unlicensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless, and Other. | Focus on addresses with no internet. |
| Tier 2 | Underserved | Low-latency Fiber, Cable, Copper, or Terrestrial Licensed Fixed Wireless offering of speeds less than 100/20 Mbps, but greater than or equal to 25/3 Mbps. | Focus on addresses with speeds below 100/20 Mbps. |
| Tier 3 | Served | Low-latency Fiber, Cable, Copper, or Licensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless offering of speeds greater than or equal to 100/20 Mbps. | Existing internet is below 1 Gbps or choices in internet service provider is limited. |
Livingston County’s Broadband Journey
Broadband Telecommunications Needs Assessment 2010
In May 2010, Livingston County published the Broadband Telecommunications Needs Assessment. This effort was multi-faceted and included an inventory of infrastructure, GIS gap analysis, explored options of public/private partnerships and identified stakeholders for implementation.
The Connecting Livingston County: Inventory Atlas of Broadband Assets 2018
In 2018, The Connecting Livingston County: Inventory Atlas of Broadband Assets was completed by Planning Department Staff. The purpose of the document was to illustrate the many assets that Livingston County could utilize for consideration of broadband buildout. This tool identified vertical assets, public facilities, emergency facilities, commercial and industrial assets, downtown revitalization districts and vertical datum.
County Wide Study 2019
The County commissioned a county-wide asset inventory, an engineering report and a public survey to analyze the need and shape future strategies for rural broadband development. The survey was distributed county-wide in the winter of 2019 to residents, businesses, and farm operators. It was designed to collect data on current broadband services, offerings and speeds by location. The results from the survey have been vital for a better understanding of the internet landscape in the county.
Broadband DATA Act 2020
Congress passed the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, or the Broadband DATA Act. The bill required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change the way broadband data was collected, verified, and reported.
Specifically, the bill required the FCC to collect and disseminate more granular broadband availability data. To do this, the FCC was required to establish the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, also known as the Broadband Data Collection (BDC). The Fabric is a dataset of geocoded information for all broadband service locations (BSLs).
Additionally, the FCC was required to establish a challenge process to enable the submission of independent data challenging the accuracy of FCC broadband maps. Communities, individuals, and providers have the ability to challenge the BSL Fabric, as well as the reported service available at those locations.
NYS Broadband Assessment Program 2021
Under the Comprehensive Broadband Connectivity Act of 2021, the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) is directed to study, on an annual basis, the availability, reliability, and cost of high-speed broadband service in New York State. The Broadband Assessment Program is administered by DPS to fulfill these obligations and produce an interactive map of its findings.
The interactive map can be found at: https://mapmybroadband.dps.ny.gov
USDA ReConnect Grant 2021
Livingston County was awarded $11,304, 241 through the second round of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural eConnectivity (ReConnect) grant in fall 2021.
A public-private partnership was formed between Livingston County and Empire Access for deployment of these grant funds. Empire Access will own and operate hundreds of miles of a fiber-optic network that will offer reliable, high-speed Internet access to approximately 1,118 addresses in Livingston County. Livingston County provided the match funds for the grant and over time Empire Access will pay the County for this investment.
Municipal Broadband Analysis 2022
In 2022 Livingston County commissioned a Municipal Broadband Analysis. Utilizing all of the data from federal, State and local sources, staff created a series of maps for existing broadband infrastructure in the county. The information collected through this Municipal Broadband Analysis represented the most recent information about service providers, speeds and internet availability in Livingston County in order to inform which portions of the County were eligible for grants.
FCC BDC Map 2022
According to the FCC, "...The Broadband Data Collection Map provides information about the internet services available to individual locations across the country, along with new maps of mobile coverage, as reported by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the FCC’s ongoing Broadband Data Collection.
Consumers, state, local and Tribal government entities, and other stakeholders can help verify the accuracy of the data shown on the map by filing challenges. An accurate map helps identify the unserved and underserved communities most in need of funding for high-speed internet infrastructure investments..."
Municiapal Infrastructure Grant 2024
In June of 2024, Livingston County was awarded $26.5 million dollars for broadband fiber deployment expenses by Empire State Development (ESD). It is expected that this project will yield 340 miles of fiber infrastructure.
The project using these grant funds entails construction of fiber broadband service to the remaining 4,131 known unserved and underserved locations in Livingston County, marking a major milestone for “Light Up Livingston”. It is expected that this network will yield 340 miles of fiber infrastructure, which will be publicly owned by Livingston County. The network sharing model shall exist for a period of 10 years and will be non-exclusive for public use.
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July 21, 2021: Livingston County Takes Next Step Toward High-Speed Broadband Internet
March 10, 2022: Livingston County Takes Next Step Toward County-Wide High-Speed Internet
June 2, 2022: Livingston County Provides Update on Light Up Livingston Project
June 16, 2022: Governor Hochul Announces Release of Statewide Address-Level Broadband Map
June 25, 2024: Livingston County Secures $26.5M to Bring High-Speed Internet Countywide with Light Up Livingston
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