When you bring a transformational technology into someone’s house it allows them to do things that they couldn’t do before.”

Shawn Beqaj, Founder of Archtop Fiber

SULLIVAN – “A little less than a year ago, we had a similar event at Bethel Woods where we were announcing the shovel in the ground of this project, and now here we are with Archtop [Fiber] actually having paying customers on board,” said Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek. 

He was speaking at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Liberty, where the first households have connected to the county-initiated fiber-optic broadband internet project, an effort to bring high-speed internet to as many houses as possible. 

Potosek said the project has been a decade in the making and spoke of the difficulties in getting it to come to fruition. 

Also speaking on the obstacles, Founder of Archtop Fiber Shawn Beqaj, called it a “labor of love,” and acknowledged the impact the project will have.

“When you bring a transformational technology into someone’s house it allows them to do things that they couldn’t do before,” he said. 

The Archtop Fiber project in Sullivan County, which is expected to be complete by the end of this year, is a $29.9 million public-private initiative designed to bring high-speed, multi-gigabit broadband internet to over 22,000 previously unserved and underserved homes and businesses, funded by a grant from New York State.

Sullivan County will ultimately own the infrastructure, while Archtop Fiber, which is based in Kingston, operates as the internet service provider.

The first customers are in the Liberty area and service will spread to around 2,300 miles throughout the county. 

“I didn’t have internet until I left for college,” said Sullivan County District 1 Legislator Matt McPhillips. “So to see this happening and to see it on the road where I used to live already going in the ground is super exciting.” 

Residents will receive flyers in the mail when service is available. In the meantime, they can fill out a form on Archtop’s website and they will be informed via email. Services and pricing can also be found on the website; plans go from $60 a month to $240 a month depending on gigabit size.