About the Commission

Connecting Communities. Expanding Access. Protecting Essential Communications.

Our Mission: To ensure all Ulster County residents have access to reliable, affordable internet and communications services, digital devices, and the skills needed to participate fully in today’s digital world.

Established in May 2022 by County Comptroller March Gallagher under the Ulster County Charter, the Citizens Commission for Digital Inclusion is a nine-member volunteer advisory group that identifies connectivity gaps, advocates for underserved communities, and helps coordinate practical solutions with government agencies, service providers, and community partners.

Our Role and Impact: The Commission turns local needs into coordinated action. Through public outreach, broadband mapping, challenges to inaccurate coverage data, and identification of unserved locations, it helped lay the groundwork for Ulster County’s $17.3 million federal BEAD award and an estimated $41.7 million in Verizon investment to expand fiber broadband to 1,293 unserved locations.

The Commission continues to support broadband deployment, advance cellular coverage mapping, address service reliability, and coordinate efforts to protect residents and essential services during Verizon’s proposed copper landline retirement.

What Is Digital Inclusion?

Digital inclusion is like a three-legged stool, supported by three essentials:

• Internet access: Reliable, affordable broadband.
• Devices: Computers, tablets, and other tools to connect.
• Digital skills: The knowledge to use technology safely and effectively.

All three are necessary to participate fully in education, employment, healthcare, government services, and everyday life.

Our Work

Broadband Expansion and the BEAD Award

The Commission’s extensive groundwork, community outreach, broadband mapping, and sustained coordination with County and State officials helped position Ulster County for a major broadband investment.

Approved funding and planned deployment:

• $17.3 million in federal BEAD funding awarded for broadband expansion in Ulster County.
• An estimated $41.7 million in Verizon private investment, calculated using Verizon’s reported statewide private funding match of approximately 241% of BEAD awards. This is an estimate, not a separately confirmed Ulster County investment commitment.
• 1,293 eligible unserved locations identified for planned fiber-optic broadband deployment by Verizon.

The estimated combined public and private investment is approximately $59 million. The award establishes the funding allocation; actual construction and service availability remain subject to implementation, applicable agreements, and project milestones.

Ulster County Broadband Deployment Team

The proposed Broadband Deployment Team framework calls for coordination among County officials, Commission representatives, municipal leaders, Verizon, and New York State’s ConnectALL Office to support the fiber buildout.

Its documented charge identifies five principal responsibilities:

• Monitor BEAD requirements and construction milestones.
• Coordinate with municipalities, highway departments, Verizon, and other stakeholders.
• Respond to resident questions and provide location-specific progress information.
• Address local construction and logistical concerns.
• Report deployment progress to County and municipal leaders.

Proposed expanded responsibility: An October 2026 revision would also involve the Team in coordinating Verizon’s proposed copper landline transition, with particular attention to dependable replacement service, emergency communications, and public safety. 

Proposed Team membership: Representatives of the County Executive’s Office; County Planning Director Dennis Doyle; Commission delegates Jenny Lee, Robert Drake, and Jim Sofranko; and Rich Parete, Chair of the Ulster County Association of Supervisors and Mayors. Municipal and Emergency Services representatives would participate as needed.

Cellular Coverage and Public Safety

The Commission works with town supervisors, fire departments, and New York State’s ConnectALL Office to identify gaps in cellular coverage, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Building on this work, ConnectALL partnered with Ulster County to pilot a mapping initiative to document where cellular service is unavailable or unreliable, helping guide infrastructure investments and statewide improvements.

Around October 2024, ConnectALL’s Cellular and Wireless Division conducted drive tests along major roadways identified by the County as having unreliable or nonexistent cellular service. These tests provided on-the-ground measurements to help assess coverage gaps and inform future planning.

Verizon Copper Landline Retirement

In September 2026, the Commission launched a three-track, countywide coordinated response to Verizon’s proposal to retire traditional copper telephone lines:

1. Direct collaboration with Verizon: Identify local vulnerabilities and pursue practical, location-specific solutions.
2. Countywide surveys: Document residents’ and essential institutions’ communications needs and reliability concerns.
3. Regulatory engagement: Work with elected officials and federal and State regulators to seek effective consumer protections.

Current status: Verizon’s copper retirement remains a proposal subject to applicable regulatory review and approvals. The Commission’s collaborative work does not constitute approval or endorsement of retiring copper service.

The Commission supports modernization while working to ensure residents and essential services retain dependable communications.

Resources: [Verizon Copper Landline Retirement FAQs – add link] | [Resident Survey – add link] | [Critical Facilities Survey – add link]

Digital Equity and Service Quality

In 2025, the Commission collaborated with regional partners on a Digital Equity Capacity Program grant application and engaged internet providers about existing cable service-speed concerns.

Commission Members

Contact the Commission:

Jenny Lee, Chair
Ulster County Citizens Commission for Digital Inclusion

Email: Jenny.Lee@UlsterCountyNY.gov 

Office of the Ulster County Comptroller
Email: CountyComptroller@UlsterCountyNY.gov
Phone: 845-331-8774

Broadband Resources

• New York State Connect All: https://broadband.ny.gov/get-monthly-help-pay your-internet-service 
• U.S. Affordable Connectivity Program:  https://www.affordableconnectivity.gov/
• This non-profit connects families in underserved communities to affordable  internet service and computers, and delivers digital skills trainings (bi-lingual):  https://www.everyoneon.org/ 
• Free digital skills training: https://www.everyoneon.org/digital-learning
• Low cost offers for families, schools, and non-profits:  https://www.everyoneon.org/lowcost-offers 
• List of organizations working towards bridging the digital divide:  https://www.everyoneon.org/lowcost-offers 
• The ReConnect Loan and Grant Program furnishes loans and grants to provide  funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities  and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas.  The application window is now OPEN. https://www.usda.gov/reconnect
• Federal Communications Commission: https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-providers
• Applications in Spanish: https://www.affordableconnectivity.gov/wp content/uploads/ACP-Application-Form-Spanish.pdf
• Applications in English: https://www.affordableconnectivity.gov/wp-content/uploads/ACP-Application-Form-English.pdf
• Take the Ulster County Resident Survey: Retirement of Verizon Copper Telephone Landlines
• The Commission created the Ulster County Broadband Map and filed numerous challenges with both the FCC and the ConnectAll New York broadband program.
• The Commission maintains a list of unserved addresses in Ulster County.

Ulster County Franchise Agreements
(Google Drive Folder)