The 2020 Hillsdale Broadband Survey ran from January to July. We had 166 respondents or roughly 10% of all residents. The town was a benefactor of the NYS Broadband Program upgrade and, coupled with the Charter/Spectrum fiber upgrades, fully two-thirds of Hillsdale residents now enjoy 21st-century high-speed broadband via fiber.
- 71.6% (119) of respondents report speeds below the minimum 25 Mbps required by the NYS Broadband Program.
- 30% (45) of respondents pay upwards of $100 to over $200 a month for proper or even substandard service.
- 6% (24) report absolutely "No Service Available”
- 36% (60) are using wireless technology which is unreliable, can have high latency or lag, and is so prohibitively expensive only those with means can afford the service if it is available at their homes at all.
During this pandemic, we have had unprecedented stress put upon local residents and their families. Our numbers have swollen as many part-time residents are here for the duration. We are ALL struggling to maintain their employment, educate their children, attend to medical needs via telehealth, shop for groceries, etc. All of this with extremely inadequate or non-existent internet speeds. They’re spending hours at the library or other wifi hotspots, using extremely expensive and often unreliable cellular or satellite data.
Some $750M was spent across New York State during the broadband expansion. Columbia County received an enormous chunk of those funds and still, we have local towns, particularly in the eastern part of the county, that are left on the wrong side of the digital divide. Hillsdale needs a fresh infusion of capital and creative thinking to usher ALL of its residents into the 21st century. Most of our infrastructures date back 30 years or more. DSL is not a future-proof technology and will be completely unusable in the coming decades. We need fiber to get us through the next 50 years.
See the report data visualization below or
CLICK HERE
WHAT NOW?
Call & Tweet at your representatives
Ask for a proper fiber optic upgrade in ALL of Hillsdale! Let them know that a full one-third of your town is on the wrong side of the digital divide and we demand our tax dollars be put to equitable use.
Representative Antonio Delgado
TWEET @repdelgado
Hudson Office
420 Warren St.
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 267-4123
Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 10AM – 4PM
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Kingston Office
256 Clinton Ave
Kingston, NY 12401
(845) 443-2930
Monday to Friday, 9AM - 5PM
Governor Andrew Cuomo
Phone
1-518-474-8390
Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Mail
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Online Email Form Submission
State Senator Daphne Jordan
DISTRICT OFFICE
1580 Columbia Turnpike
Building 2, Suite 1,
Castleton-On-The-Hudson, NY 12033
Phone: 518-371-2751
ALBANY OFFICE
188 State Street, Legislative Office Bldg.,
Room 508
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518-455-2381
Assemblyman Jake Ashby
District Office
594 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061
518-272-6149
Fax: 518-477-5404
Albany Office
LOB 720
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5777
Email [email protected]
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Leo W. O’Brien Federal Office Building
11A Clinton Avenue,
Room 821
Albany, NY 12207
Tel. (518) 431-0120
Fax (518) 431-0128
US Senator Charles (Chuck) E. Schumer
Leo O'Brien Building, Room 420
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: (518) 431-4070
Fax: (518) 431-4076
Online Email Form Submission
Call your provider & ask for an upgrade
If you're outside of the fiber area, we are working on several quotes for certain roads and neighborhoods. But asking for an upgrade may get you faster service in the meantime and/or inform the provider that you and other neighbors are interested in high-speed broadband in your area.
Consolidated
DSL & Fiber
If you can received DSL from Consolidated now, you could ask for a business line instead.
Contact Consolidated at 1.844.968.7224
Spectrum
Cable/Fiber
Contact Charter/Spectrum at 1-855-243-8892
Verizon
Telephone line only but has run special circuits and fiber for businesses and residences
Contact Verizon at 1.800.VERIZON
TWEET @VerizonSupport
TWEET @Verizon
