Archtop Fiber Falls Below Half of 250,000-Home Plan as Permits Stretch to 600 Days
Updated
Updated · The Daily Freeman · Aug 3
Archtop Fiber Falls Below Half of 250,000-Home Plan as Permits Stretch to 600 Days
1 articles · Updated · The Daily Freeman · Aug 3
Summary
Less than half of Archtop Fiber’s planned 250,000-home buildout is complete, the company said, leaving its Hudson Valley expansion significantly behind schedule despite more than 20,000 customers already connected.
500-to-600-day utility permit cycles—versus the 115 days Archtop expected—are driving the delays, with Central Hudson reviews, National Grid approvals and state DOT right-of-way signoffs slowing both pole and underground work.
$100,000 to $150,000 a mile in some utility-related construction costs, plus millions of dollars of fiber sitting in warehouses, have made sparse service areas especially hard to build economically.
Archtop began building in 2023 in Kingston, Warwick, Germantown, Saugerties and Red Hook, but expansion into Ulster, Esopus, Hurley, Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Catskill, Stockport and Hudson has produced mixed results.
The company said it is still hiring, using acquired local phone-company infrastructure and prioritizing areas municipalities identify as most in need when new grants become available.