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Q&A
Big Apple Connect funding plans and service improvements
1:26:25
·
169 sec
Commissioner Matthew C. Fraser discussed the future funding and service improvements for the Big Apple Connect program.
- OTI is working with the Office of Management and Budget to advocate for baseline funding starting next fiscal year
- The program is expected to see service improvements, with current speeds averaging 300 Mbps down, significantly higher than the federal definition of high-speed internet
- OTI is negotiating with franchisees to ensure public housing benefits from the same upgrades as commercial networks
- The program has seen a 30-35% increase in connectivity across public housing
- A connectivity dashboard is available to show adoption rates by development
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:26:25
Okay.
1:26:25
Sorry.
1:26:25
So I just wanna go back to Big Apple Connect commissioner, because I council member Brewer also raised a really good point about programming that she didn't see in the preliminary budget.
1:26:36
For Big Apple Connect, we didn't see the funding in out years beyond f y twenty five.
1:26:43
I know that the contract is set to expire this year and then you have the option for an extension.
1:26:49
Just curious it wasn't there.
1:26:53
What can you tell me about kind of what it's going to look like for you all to make the the baseline a reality?
Matthew C. Fraser
1:27:00
Yeah.
1:27:01
So we've been working very diligently with the office of management management and budget to advocate for the program and to talk about what the projection the projected needs are for the out years.
1:27:11
We have we believe we have initial commitments in place where the funding will be baseline starting next fiscal year.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:27:18
Okay.
1:27:20
And we won't know until?
Matthew C. Fraser
1:27:21
Until the the new plan comes Yeah.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:27:24
And then on Big Apple Connect, do you anticipate any any services any changes to services?
Matthew C. Fraser
1:27:31
Only for them to get better.
1:27:35
When we negotiated our definition of high speed, in most cases the federal definition is 25 megs down.
1:27:42
Mhmm.
1:27:43
The average person that's getting Big Apple Connect today is getting 300 megs down, right, which is a significant increase on what the federal perspective is.
1:27:53
We want to ensure for our franchisees that they understand that as they make upgrades to their commercial networks outside of public housing, those some those same upgrades have to be brought into public housing and as part of every negotiation that we have looking to increase service levels, increase capacity is something that we're actively looking at doing.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:28:14
Okay.
1:28:14
Increasing capacity.
1:28:15
Do you have a sense of how many people of the people that signed up or the maybe the homes more specifically signed up for Big Apple Connect, how many of them did not have Internet before?
Matthew C. Fraser
1:28:25
So how many so the average amount of households that had Internet access in public housing, it it fluctuated by development.
1:28:35
Some of them were as high as fifth the high fifties.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:28:37
That did not have
Matthew C. Fraser
1:28:38
Internet access.
1:28:39
That did have access which means that 40% and below did not have access and some of them were as low as the forties, thirties to forties which means that on average across the board we've seen an average of 30% increase, 30 like 3035% increase in the amount of connectivity across public housing as part of Big Apple Connect.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:29:04
And do you have that by development?
1:29:06
Would you be able to share that of just the percentage?
Matthew C. Fraser
1:29:08
We do.
1:29:08
We have a connectivity dashboard that we can share.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:29:11
Okay.
1:29:11
I'll pass it to council member Burr for questions.
Gale Brewer
1:29:14
Just on the three one one, I know in the past it was city employees, King, and CUNY, and I understand CUNY is no longer part of three one one.