Broadband in Taghkanic

Taghkanic may be the only town in Columbia County to have three High-Speed Broadband Providers: GTel, Mid-Hudson Cable, and Consolidated Communications. Each provider has specific service areas. If you live in an area that has more than one, you may enjoy competitive pricing. All three broadband companies provide high-speed fiber optic internet and bundle packages for television and telephone services.

Taghkanic Broadband Providers

GTel

GTel, formerly Germantown Telephone, provides fiber optic broadband services throughout the Town of Taghkanic except as described below. Internet speed packages start at a basic 50 mbps and go up to 1,000 mbps. Telephone and television packages are also offered. Contact Customer Service at 518-537-4835 for personal service or visit www.gtel.net for more information.

Service Area Exceptions for GTel

GTel ran fiber along all Taghkanic public roads with two exceptions. One is Red Fox Lane where fiber was run by Consolidated as part of a swap in which GTel wired a part of Gallatin that Consolidated found it had no reasonable way to reach. The second, which is largely undeveloped land, is County Route 11 between Berkshire Road and List Bypass. The small number of existing homes in the area were able to get service from GTel fiber run along roads adjoining County Route 11. If other parcels get developed, this may be an option for some, but may not be available for all. GTel’s website has a service area map (gtel.net/about/service-area) which can be enlarged to assist owners of undeveloped land to locate their parcels within the unwired area. Owners concerned about service in the event of future development may also want to contact GTel directly for parcel specific information.

Mid-Hudson Cable

Mid-Hudson Cable is a local Catskill, NY company that provides a package of fiber optic internet, television and telephone services. All Mid-Hudson Cable lines have been updated to high-speed, digital cable modem and cable phone. Pricing depends on the combination of services you choose starting at 200 mbps and up to 1,000 mbps. Call Customer Service at 800-342-5400 or visit mhcable.net for more information.

Service Routes for Mid-Hudson Cable

Mid-Hudson Cable service routes in Taghkanic stretch only along Route 27 from the Claverack town line to Pumpkin Hollow Road North and on to the Copake town line with several nearby town roads included. Additional service lines exist on State Road 82 on the west side of the parkway and also include adjoining town roads. If your home is near an existing service line, contact Customer Service at 800-342-5400 to request cable installation. See the map of Mid-Hudson Cable service lines.

See Map

Consolidated Communications

Consolidated Communications, formerly Fairpoint, advertises several options for fiber optic connectivity with speeds up to one Gigabyte. To check on availability, call Customer Service at 844-968-7221 or visit consolidated.com/residential/internet.

Service Routes for Consolidated Communications

Consolidated has a small footprint in Taghkanic with service lines starting at Route 23 and County 11A past Taconic Hills School to the intersection with Route 11; from there, fiber has been extended up Route 11 to Woodland Road. Fiber continues down Route 11 to Copake Lake Road and includes Bloody Hill Road as well. Consolidated also serves Red Fox Lane.

FINANCIAL HELP FOR BROADBAND

All three providers participate in both the Affordable Connectivity Program and Lifeline Program that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. Please share with your friends and neighbors who may not have Internet access. Download Info as PDF

The federal government has created the Affordable Connectivity Program and Lifeline program to help income eligible households afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. A qualifying family can receive both ACP and Lifeline benefits at the same time. All three broadband providers in Taghkanic—GTel, Mid-Hudson Cable and Consolidated Communications—participate in these programs and a Customer Service representative can assist you in applying.

Affordable Connectivity Program

The ACP is a Federal Communications Commission program that provides a broadband and/or one-time connected device benefit. If you qualify, your household can receive Affordable Connectivity Program benefit of up to $30 per month towards the cost of your Internet service. Through the program, your service provider may also offer a one-time internet connected device benefit of up to $100 for a computer, tablet or laptop with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50.

For more information, call the Support Center at 877-384-2575 or visit affordableconnectivity.gov.

Lifeline

Lifeline is another Federal Communications Commission program that helps make communication services more affordable for income eligible households. Lifeline provides subscribers a discount of up to $9.25 per month on broadband Internet service or bundled voice-broadband packages. A discount of $5.25 per month is available for voice only service as well.

Contact Lifeline by phone at (800)-234-9473 or email at LifelineSupport@usac.org or visit their website at fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers https://www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers

Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley

So often new users of high-speed broadband services need help navigating the many platforms now available. Several libraries in our area participate in Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley, a program that provides free technology assistance to residents. Trained library staff can help connect people to low-cost Internet service and teach the skills needed to use a device. This community support can assist with managing many everyday tasks that are now only accessible through the Internet.

Please contact one of these participating libraries in Columbia County for an appointment:

Information presented on June 2022

Courtesy of the Taghkanic Broadband Committee: Nancy Rutter (Chairwoman), Chris Tallackson, and Susan Raymond.