Challenges & Opportunities

Twenty-two percent of New York City households do not have Internet service at home; commercial high-speed connections are often priced out-of-reach for small businesses and startups. The high-costs and slow-speeds of Internet access impacts civic engagement and economic growth.


Initiatives

We have, to date, taken significant steps toward building its capacity to meet this goal, creating new positions focused on telecommunications infrastructure and policy, and establishing the Broadband Task Force.

Promote competition in the residential and commercial broadband markets.

The City will create new or expanded franchises and alternative service models to expand infrastructure, produce more competition, and increase affordability by 2025.

Provide high-speed, residential internet service for low-income communities currently without service.

The City will invest in networks providing high-speed residential access either free or at low-cost for low-income communities.

Increase investment in broadband corridors to reach high-growth business districts, with a focus on outer borough neighborhoods.

The City will invest in new technologies to support innovation economy business in key commercial corridors. This will address the relative lack of high-speed fiber or wireless options for businesses in the boroughs outside of Manhattan, high prices and their combined impact on economic growth and development across the City.

Promote seamless user experience across public networks to create high speed access across the boroughs.

The City will ensure a successful citywide rollout of LinkNYC network, which will consist of up to 10,000 structures across the five boroughs, offering 24/7 free Internet access up to gigabit speeds, as well as a range of other services.

Explore innovative ways to provide high-speed Internet to homes, businesses, and the public.

The City has released a Call for Innovations targeting the needs of underserved residential and commercial customers, identifying public and private infrastructure that might be leveraged to meet these needs, and requesting suggestions for innovative models to provide services to low-income households and startups.