Dryden Fiber says buildout will reach every house in Dryden this year; Caroline expansion to follow

David Makar, executive director of Dryden Fiber, told the Tompkins County Council of Governments that the municipal broadband project has moved from pilot to large-scale construction and will reach every home in the town of Dryden by the end of the year. "We currently reach about a third of the town of Dryden," Makar said, adding the project serves roughly 1,800 of about 5,800 parcels. He reported 528 customers on the platform as of March 1 and a 29% take rate.

Makar said the initiative began with planning years ago and marked its official public start with a May 2022 groundbreaking. About 75 miles of construction are complete, much of it aerial on utility poles leased primarily from NYSEG; underground backbone fiber runs along a town-owned rail trail. He described additional construction this year that will add about 130 miles (roughly 113 aerial and 20 underground) to complete townwide coverage and extend service into Caroline.

The presentation included service tiers and pricing. Makar said residential service offers symmetrical speeds up to 1 gig (and 2 gig for business customers) and the entry residential tier is $45 per month for 400 Mbps. "With fiber optic, you have the equal speed in both directions," he said, calling upload performance particularly important for remote work and school.

Makar outlined funding sources: the project has closed about $1.7 million in earlier grants and, he said, in 2024 the combined towns of Dryden and Caroline received roughly $9 million that was later increased to about $11.6 million to support the build to unserved and underserved homes. The Caroline expansion will add about 99 miles and reach roughly 1,161 parcels, he said.

On local economic impact, Makar said roughly 28% of the project cost is hardware and roughly 70% is labor, producing prevailing-wage local jobs during construction. He estimated the platform's long-term revenue at steady state near $2.7 million annually and projected an eventual 4,500 customers in Dryden alone once the network is built out.

Council members asked about timeline and limits of the service area; Makar said Dryden Fiber will not pursue work outside Dryden and Caroline until the local build is complete. He also said the project will not advertise service unless it can guarantee at least 100 Mbps to a home, and that a waiting list of roughly 883 sign-ups (about 700 in Dryden and 200 in Caroline) shows strong demand.

The council invited the Dryden team to keep providing monthly updates to local boards as construction progresses; Makar said he provides a monthly briefing to the town board and will continue to share project details with the council and interested municipalities.