LAFAYETTE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Onondaga County is hitting a major milestone in its effort to close the digital divide.
On Tuesday, County Executive Ryan McMahon joined local leaders at Lafayette Town Hall to celebrate a massive broadband expansion project. The $18.4 million initiative, launched in 2023, is a partnership between the county and Verizon.
McMahon said the project is about more than faster internet, it’s about equity and basic infrastructure.
“We talked about the need, and we talked about the gap,” he said. “Broadband is infrastructure in a modern economy, and it’s as important as water, wastewater, roads and bridges.”
The buildout included more than 351 miles of fiber laid throughout Onondaga County. For the first time, 1,500 homes, mostly in rural southern and western towns, now have access to high-speed internet.
The project also created competition in nearly 5,800 locations, where residents previously had only one broadband provider. Now, they have a choice between Spectrum and Verizon Fios.
However, while the infrastructure is ready, adoption has been slower than expected. Out of the 1,500 homes that were connected for the first time, only 344 have signed up for service.
“We need folks to know that they have this opportunity now,” McMahon said. “Certainly, they can go to Verizon.com to sign up.”
One of those newly connected homes belongs to Lisa Shenadona Kirst, a Lafayette resident who says the upgrade has completely changed how her family functions day-to-day.
“We signed up to be a demo house,” she said. “They came in, they were wonderful. It was a savior, not just for our satellite and cable bill, but now everything is running high stream and great. We can be on a computer, play a game, and work from home all at the same time.”
The county invested $11.1 million into the project, while Verizon contributed $6.7 million. Local leaders explained how this is a great example of a public-private partnership to meet community needs.
Now, their focus is on awareness and encouraging more families to take advantage of the service. Residents can check availability and sign up at Verizon.com.