ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 21, 2020 – Greenlight Networks—the fastest fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) provider in New York State—and the City of Rochester today announced that Greenlight has signed a Master License Agreement under the City’s Telecommunications Code.

“I want to thank Greenlight President and CEO Mark Murphy and his team for making this incredible investment in our city and helping us expand the availability of high-speed internet service to our residents and businesses,” said Mayor Lovely A. Warren. “The current COVID-19 pandemic is providing a stark reminder that the Internet is vital to keeping us connected, so this expansion of service in Rochester is very welcome news. By extending telecommunications infrastructure across our city, Greenlight is supporting our efforts to create more jobs, safer and more vibrant neighborhoods and better educational opportunities.”

“We appreciate the efforts of Mayor Warren and her staff in diligently working with Greenlight to come to a mutually beneficial agreement,” said Mark Murphy, President and CEO of Greenlight Networks. “This is a significant step forward in our efforts to bring our high-speed fiber optic network to the residents of the city of Rochester. During this time when we have all been forced to work and learn from home, we have seen an increase in demand for our high-speed Internet services. We are pleased to be working collaboratively with the City to bring our fiber internet service to as many residents as we can– especially during these challenging times.”

The agreement outlines the fee structure and application process for Greenlight to obtain rights-of-way permits for its underground and aerial facilities within the city. With this agreement in place, Greenlight is now poised to move forward with construction plans in more city neighborhoods. The agreement must be approved by City Council, but the City can issue conditional permits as the legislation moves forward.

Greenlight’s high-speed fiber optic Internet network currently reaches approximately 11,000 city households. The company expects to restart construction in the Park Avenue and Harper Street area this summer with plans to continue its network build-out in the Greenlight Districts covering the Cobbs Hill Drive and Beckwith Terrace areas in the fourth quarter of this year. With construction underway, Greenlight plans to reach an additional 1,200 households by the end of the year, with thousands more city households planned to come online in 2021.

This is the first Master License Agreement reached with a residential Internet Service Provider since the City adopted its Telecommunications Code last year. The Code seeks to facilitate the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure across the city while preserving existing infrastructure, such as roadways.

The Agreement supports the City’s pending “Dig Once” policy by involving Greenlight in upcoming road construction projects so the company’s network expansion can be planned and timed with scheduled street reconstruction efforts. Greenlight is coordinating with the City Department of Environmental Services to lay fiber during many upcoming projects, including Mount Hope and Lyell Avenues.

The Ordinance also allows service providers to provide in-kind services in lieu of fee payments, and the City and Greenlight have agreed to seek opportunities to leverage this provision to ensure Greenlight’s network extends into low-income neighborhoods and help bridge the digital divide.

The City has also agreed to assist Greenlight in community outreach efforts to obtain easements from city residents to facilitate the company’s network expansion efforts. In many situations, Greenlight is required to obtain legal approval from homeowners to run its fiber optic network under a portion of land to connect that home and its neighbors to the Greenlight network. Governor Cuomo recently signed an executive order allowing notarization of easements via video, so Greenlights’ easement team is actively engaged in these efforts within required City neighborhoods.

About Greenlight Networks, LLC: Greenlight Networks is an ultra-high-speed, broadband service provider, offering residential and small business customers Internet speeds up to 2 Gigabit per second. Based in Rochester, NY and founded in 2011, the company builds, owns and operates its fiber-optic networks to provide amazingly fast Internet connections to its customers. For more information on the company, please visit GreenlightNetworks.com or find it on Facebook.com/GreenlightNetworks, and @GreenlightFiber on Twitter.