PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Greene County, New York, hereby requests proposals for the design, furnishing, installation and maintenance of high-speed fiber optic broadband internet service to the target areas, roads, and unserved households specified herein and located in Greene County.
Greene County is committed to ensuring high-speed broadband is available to unserved areas within the County. The County recognizes many residents already have access to high-speed service from Charter One Spectrum, Mid-Hudson Cable, State Telephone, and Margaretville Telephone, or other providers because they live in areas where it is technically feasible and cost-effective for local internet service providers (ISP’S) to provide it. However, high-speed broadband service is not available everywhere in Greene County due to the high costs associated with construction and in many cases a low number of households per mile in rural areas. These hurdles can include low-density development, rights-of-way restrictions, underground construction, make-ready work for pole replacement and licensing, and topography. In short, ISPs cannot provide ubiquitous coverage and obtain a reasonable rate of return everywhere in the County.
The County has declared that high-speed broadband internet is a priority for all residents of the County and continues to work toward the potential for closing this broadband availability gap in identified (“Target Areas”) by offering a financial subsidy to qualified and committed private sector partners. In this RFP, Greene County is soliciting proposals to provide a grant to one or more ISPs or other entities (“Applicants”) that commit to meeting the goals and conditions outlined in this RFP and in subsequent negotiations. The purpose of the grant will be to defray the cost of the infrastructure necessary to meet the requirements of the RFP, which are likely to include construction of fiber optic cables, conduit and/or poles to provide service (“Assets”).
The County welcomes the responses of incumbent ISP’s, competitive providers, and non-profit institutions and cooperatives, which are interested in offering service under innovative business models
