The Upstate Rural Broadband Board announced a project that aims to benefit eight counties in New York.

The announcement came during the Upstate Rural Broadband Conference Tuesday in Binghamton.

Project Connect is a plan to bring high-speed broadband to Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties.

"We learned during the pandemic, it helps with those with remote, education, health care, it provides an opportunity for those in rural communities to be able to compete with those in more urban centers," said Southern Tier 8 Board Member Jen Gregory.

This is the second-largest such project by landmass in the nation. It is second only to a 39-county project in California.