Saratoga, N.Y. - Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced that the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board will receive $250,000 in funding to support a region-wide planning project that will assess the availability of cell service and conduct an in-depth analysis of deployable technology options in the Adirondacks.
The Regional Planning Board is partnering with the New York State ConnectALL Office to hire a consulting firm to gather signal availability data through drive tests on all state and county roads in Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington Counties. This effort will also include the purchase of cell availability data gathered through an online app platform to determine the accuracy and validity of each dataset, with the purpose of informing future work statewide.
“I’m proud to announce that following my advocacy, the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board has been awarded $250,000 to support their work in providing the Adirondacks with reliable cell coverage. Expanding broadband and cell service has been one of my top priorities for our region,” said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
“We are incredibly excited to have received this grant from our partners at NBRC and USDA Rural Development,” said Beth Gilles, Director, Lake Champlain - Lake George Regional Planning Board. “This funding will help us define the remaining cellular gaps within the region and create an actionable plan by bringing together public and private stakeholders. NBRC has always been a valuable partner in planning for improved telecommunications infrastructure within the Adirondack Park and North Country region, and we thank the Congresswoman for her continued support in all these efforts.”
In April 2024, Congresswoman Stefanik sent a letter to the Northern Border Regional Commission’s Executive Director Rich Grogan expressing support for the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board’s grant application to support their North Country Cellular Deployment Planning project.
