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10 MONTHS AFTER BROADBAND REPORT WAS RELEASED, BUFFALO HASN'T BEEN QUICK TO
CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The broadband report commissioned by the City of Buffalo laid out a variety of
recommendations for the city to help close the digital gap. They haven't adopted
them.
Buffalo's digital divide



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Author: Nate Benson (WGRZ)
Published: 11:32 PM EST March 6, 2023
Updated: 11:32 PM EST March 6, 2023


BUFFALO, N.Y. — In May 2022 the City of Buffalo released a broadband study that
was produced by ECC Technologies. The city used $67,000 of CARES Act funding for
the study. 

The study concluded with short-term, medium-term, and long-term recommendations
for the city to follow in order to close the digital gap in Buffalo. 



Ten months later, the city hasn't made meaningful progress in adopting any of
those recommendations. 

Short-term goals included promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program, a
federal program that allows eligible households to receive a $30/month discount
on internet service. 

Additionally, short-term goals included forming a broadband committee, hiring a
broadband champion, and creating a fund for low-income housing residents to
receive additional financial support for broadband and digital tools. 

A city of Buffalo spokesperson has confirmed that a broadband champion has not
been hired. 

The city claims to have formed a broadband committee.

However a city spokesperson would not confirm any of the members of the
committee, nor would they confirm when the committee would actually meet. 

In mid-February, the spokesperson said the committee would meet by the end of
the month. 

Additionally, a city spokesperson would not 

The city also hasn't had any formal promotion of the Affordable Connectivity
Program. Recent data, December 2022, from the FCC indicates that over 54,000
households in Buffalo are using the program. However, given the very flexible
eligibility requirements for the program, more households could benefit from the
city promoting the program. 

There also hasn't been any formal announcement of a fund created by the city to
provide additional assistance for broadband access and digital tools. 

The study cited the cost of broadband access is one of the largest burdens for
Buffalo residents. The majority of the city only has Spectrum as an available
carrier. Greenlight Networks, however, has been slowly expanding for several
years on the west side. Verizon recently confirmed to WGRZ that they are
expanding FiOS, mostly in the northern part of the city. 



Medium-term goals in the report included "welcoming 5G carriers" to the city,
which sources say some conversations are happening but have been slow. 

Additional medium goals include adopting a "dig once" policy, providing easy
access to the right of ways, streamlining permitting, and easier access to
underground infrastructure. 

The city hasn't adopted a "dig once" policy, and there don't appear to be any
changes to permitting, right-of-way access, or underground access. One
telecommunications source told 2 On Your Side that the process is "just as slow
as ever."

As for long-term goals, the report suggested the city tap into the proposed
ErieNET project and look at developing a municipal broadband system.

2 On Your Side has been told there have been very preliminary conversations with
between the city and county regarding an ErieNET partnership, but it's unclear
how far those discussions have gone. 




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