A $30 million expansion by Greenlight Networks is bringing high-speed fiber optic internet to Rochester’s west-side suburbs.
The low-cost provider began construction in Spencerport last month, reached Hilton last November and has been expanding in the towns of Greece, Gates and Chili over the past two-plus years.
Greenlight hopes the western push translates to an additional 40,000 household connections by year’s end, company officials said in an announcement this week.
“Our hometown, Rochester, remains a critical part of our expansion strategy especially in communities that have historically lacked access to high-speed internet like those along the west side,” Greenlight Network CEO Mark Murphy said in a news release.
Greenlight serves 135,000 households in Monroe County and Victor in Ontario County. But the limited west-side access was highlighted last week during a news conference announcing a Monroe County initiative to expand access to high-speed broadband.
“We have a gap out on the west side,” said Republican county Legislator Jackie Smith, a Republican representing Clarkson, Hamlin, and Sweden. “Our residents have struggled to stay connected in an increasingly digital world.”
The county initiative, backed by $3 million in federal pandemic relief dollars, includes solar-powered charging stations with Wi-Fi hotspots, and a plan to boost the number of wireless internet hotspots available for checkout by library patrons to 1,000 units by year’s end.
The west side isn’t the only area with access issues. In parts of the city, including the Upper Falls, Plymouth-Exchange and JOSANA, Lyell-Otis and Dutchtown neighborhoods, more than a third of households don’t have an internet subscription.
Of the Greenlight hookups, 22,000 are in the city — a number that has doubled over the past five years but totals 16% of all hookups.
"High-speed internet is more important than ever to advance our region's economic and community priorities, supporting business, education, community health, and many more needs,” Robert Duffy, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement accompanying Greenlight’s announcement.
“Connectivity is no longer a luxury,” Murphy added. “It’s the foundation for education, work, healthcare and opportunity.”
Earlier this year, Greenlight announced expansion plans for Fairport and Perinton.
Greenlight’s service territory spans 235,000 households across the Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and the Hudson Valley regions.
