Background Information

Light Up Livingston Project

Light Up Livingston is Livingston County’s initiative in response to the need for high-speed, affordable broadband service. The goal is to provide access to high-speed, fiber-optic internet to every address in the county. This effort is comprised of several phases, internet service providers and grant opportunities where available. 

Livingston County recognizes the vital importance of broadband access. The Livingston County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Director, Megan Crowe, are dedicated to improving the high-speed broadband network to enrich the quality of life for residents; ensure the availability of economic development opportunities for agriculture and businesses; and have a positive impact on education, telemedicine, and emergency services. 

Several County-level technical studies acknowledge the need for improved access to broadband internet, including: 

• the County’s Strategic Plan 
• THRIVE Livingston (anti-poverty initiative)
• the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan
• the Livingston County Economic Development Strategic Plan 

The County commissioned an asset inventory, an engineering report and a public survey to analyze the need and shape future strategies for rural broadband development, distributed county-wide to residents, businesses, and farm operators in the winter of 2019. It was designed to collect data on current broadband services, offerings and speeds by location and have been vital for a better understanding of the internet landscape in the county. 

Among 2019-2020 respondents:

• 41% lacked sufficient internet access in Livingston County 
• 90% of respondents considered broadband internet to be vital public infrastructure
• 79 % stated that government should play a role in financing high-speed internet development

The goal of Light Up Livingston is to provide the opportunity for 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) or greater download speeds, and 50 Mbps upload available to those interested at every address in the county. 

The Board of Supervisors have first prioritized addresses that are considered unserved (speeds below 25/3 Mbps), then underserved (speeds between 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps) as reported through public surveys and the FCC maps. Finally, addresses that have internet access available with speeds greater than 100/20 Mbps are considered served. 

Some funding sources are restrictive in their eligibility and only fund unserved or underserved addresses to be connected.