Will Brunelle in Capital New York reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $500 million broadband expansion program will roll out in January, according to David Salway, director of the New York State Broadband Program office. The “NY Broadband Fund” will offer grants to any broadband company that offers to match public funding to expand and improve existing infrastructure. Locally, Mid-Hudson Cable has previously turned down a $3.5 million federal grant to help roll out broadband here. Salway says this program aims for download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (mbps) by 2018. According to Cuomo, 1.1 million New Yorkers don't have access to the state’s minimum requirement of at least 6.5 mbps download speed, and that 113,000 businesses cannot access 100 mbps internet services, which is “the minimum speed economic experts say is needed for real economic growth.” New York's Public Service Commission is expected to decide by Dec. 31 if Time Warner and Comcast are allowed to expand, and Salway says that he doesn’t believe [the merger], “would reduce [access] as much as further our goal” for expansion. Mid-Hudson Cable is an underwriter on WGXC. Read the full story in Capital New York.