In another instance of municipal broadband action, the City of Syracuse has launched an affordable internet program in collaboration with local provider Community Broadband Networks (CBN) and nonprofit US Ignite.
Dubbed Surge Link, the hybrid public-private broadband initiative aims to connect 2,500 underserved Syracuse households to high-speed broadband. A total of $3.5 million in ARPA funding was awarded to CBN, the internet service provider (ISP) selected to procure the network, by the Common Council for Surge Link’s 3-year pilot phase.
CBN is a New York-based ISP that “now has a presence in Syracuse” and is employing local community members to work on the rollout of Surge Link, according to Vincent Scipione, the Syracuse smart city manager. The provider will also use local subcontractors for electrical and other trades work.
Currently, the Surge Link service offers a single tier of 100 Mbps symmetrical.
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) subsidy will make the no-cost service possible for eligible households, and Surge Link will also provide a one-time per household discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop or tablet.
In Syracuse, a city of approximately 150,000, a quarter of residents lack high-speed internet access at home. Surge Link is expected to boost adoption of digital services, as well as stimulate the city’s economy.
Syracuse plans to leverage existing city-owned assets and local partnerships to speed up deployment. Specifically, the program is using an existing communications tower and constructing monopoles at two city-owned locations to support the deployment of network equipment, Scipione noted.
Local social service agencies will play a role in spreading the word to residents about the no-cost service access, while local nonprofits and businesses will work to offer technical support and training.
“We’re leveraging partnerships with organizations such as Syracuse Housing Authority to utilize some of their buildings for additional network equipment locations,” Scipione said. Network equipment is already deployed in some areas where community members can subscribe today, and the City is “continuing to build out full coverage of [the] pilot area over the next 60-90 days.”
US Ignite advised the city on the technology, deployment models and funding strategy for Surge Link.
Through a $1.95M grant from National Science Foundation, US Ignite’s Project OVERCOME was initially a two-year program that provided funding for selected recipients to build out proof-of-concept broadband projects in underserved or unserved communities. While the program no longer provides grants to communities, it has continued using “the best practices learned from those deployments to advise its network of 50 smart communities across the country,” said Lee Davenport, US Ignite’s smart communities program director.
For example, US Ignite is also helping Greensboro, North Carolina with a similar initiative. A county school district, in partnership with the Technology and Data Institute (TDI) is launching a pilot program for the academic year 2023-24 to bring connectivity to over 4,000 students within six schools.
At a ribbon-connecting ceremony held at a Syracuse Housing Authority property this week, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said the city will “actively be evaluating this pilot and look forward to expanding the service in the future."
In 2019, Walsh launched Syracuse Surge–a strategy for economic growth that leans on adding high-tech jobs and workforce development opportunities in tech, digital equity, STEAM education and programs. Through Syracuse Surge, more than $300 million in new investment has been generated, in addition to hundreds of “tech-enabled jobs.”
With the announcement, Syracuse joins a broader movement toward municipal and community-backed broadband initiatives, much to the chagrin of incumbent providers. Over the past few years successful municipal projects have popped up in Tennessee, Rhode Island and Utah, to name a few.
Despite some hurdles for municipalities trying to tap into funding programs (16 states have laws hindering municipal broadband in some form, such as limiting municipal entities in their use of municipal bonds to fund broadband projects), a map from Community Networks shows more than 600 communities in the U.S. are served by some form of municipal network, and hundreds more by cooperative networks.