Affordable Housing Connectivity Program

Broadband for Affordable Housing - Program Overview

The Affordable Housing Connectivity Program (AHCP) is improving broadband access in regulated affordable rental units across New York State.

Program Overview

New York State’s ConnectALL Office (CAO), in consultation with NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), has launched the Affordable Housing Connectivity Program (AHCP), a first-ever infrastructure initiative to upgrade in-unit broadband infrastructure for low-income, affordable housing residents that currently have unreliable, unaffordable, or nonexistent internet service options in their homes, at no cost to property owners.

By funding infrastructure upgrades to create initial or open-access building wiring, the State is attracting Internet Service Providers to often-overlooked affordable housing properties so that tenants can access high-quality home internet service at affordable monthly rates. Following the completion of broadband upgrades to buildings, residents will also be able to access digital equity and device support services through Internet Service Providers, community-based organizations, and property managers and owners.

AHCP will serve as many as 100,000 affordable units, including:

Regulated affordable properties that demonstrate they lack access to reliable, high-speed broadband service or lack broadband competition in the local internet market

Urban, suburban, and rural locations
Townhomes, single-, and multi-family housing
Workforce, senior, veteran, supportive, and other varieties of affordable housing
Regulated affordable properties that are owned or managed by groups with operational capacity and readiness for an equipment upgrade
Regulated affordable properties owned by nonprofits and for-profits alike
One Pager on AHCP

Property Owners Take Our Survey to Express Interest

If you are a building owner interested in receiving no-cost new or upgraded broadband infrastructure at your property, regardless of whether your building already has broadband wiring, use this link to complete our owner interest survey.

Your survey response will provide the information needed for CAO to confirm your property’s eligibility and to match your property with an Internet Service Provider (ISP), who will craft an installation plan tailored to your building(s).

The survey asks for contact information, property specifications, current rental subsidies, current technology infrastructure in place, planned renovations, and more.

We recommend owners review all questions before preparing a submission to understand the building and technical information you may need to retrieve.

To learn more, register for the November 6th virtual forum for Owners of Affordable Housing (see below)
AHCP Building Owner Roles & Responsibilities
Owner Interest Survey

ISPs Apply for Grant Funding

Internet service providers (ISPs) and other entities with broadband deployment experience are encouraged to respond to the AHCP Request for Applications which will be posted soon.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting in December 2023 with award rounds every other month starting in early 2024. The first-round deadline for applications will be announced soon. As preliminary awards are made, CAO will execute individual agreements with and between grantees and affordable housing property owners to ensure quality and affordability standards are met at each property.

To learn more, register for the upcoming Virtual Forum for ISPs and Broadband Deployment Entities and the Request for Application Information Session (see below)
Review the AHCP Request for Application Package (see below)

Upcoming Virtual Forums

Future Stakeholder Forums to be Announced

Information Session for the AHCP RFA

Time and date details to be announced

his session is open to internet service providers and other broadband deployment entities interested in applying for the AHCP.

The ConnectALL Office (CAO) will discuss the components and minimum requirements of the AHCP Request for Applications (RFA), review eligibility criteria for deployment applicants and affordable housing properties, and preview agreements for service between these parties. CAO will also document and respond to questions about the RFA.

Registration coming soon

Affordable Housing Connectivity (AHCP) Forum for ISPs and Broadband Deployment Entities

Time and date details to be announced

With $100 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the AHCP will provide funding for the broadband infrastructure needed to reach 100,000 affordable housing units across New York State. This program will provide grants to Internet Service Providers and other broadband deployment entities selected through ConnectALL’s AHCP Request for Applications. CAO will enter into agreements with ISPs and housing owners to provide infrastructure at existing affordable housing properties in New York State.

We invite ISPs and other entities experienced in broadband deployments to join us to learn more about this historic funding opportunity.

Registration coming soon