Syracuse, NY officials say the city’s community-owned broadband network Surge Link continues to dramatically expand two years after the network first launched, bringing affordable broadband access to the city of 145,000 – with a particular eye on helping the city’s disadvantaged.
A recent update from the city states that the network now serves more than 9,200 households in Syracuse, located in central upstate New York. The latest expansion brought the service into the city’s Valley, Skunk City, Washington Square, Northside, Prospect Hill and Hawley-Green neighborhoods in early July.
The Surge Link initiative is part of a broader $15 million investment into fixed-wireless access broadband infrastructure into a city traditionally left underserved by giant regional telecoms.
A lack of competition between dominant regional monopolies Charter (Spectrum) and Verizon has resulted in spotty access, high prices, and slow speeds.
The lion’s share of Surge Link’s latest expansion was made possible by a $10.8 million grant from the New York State ConnectALL initiative, a multi-layered billion-dollar project to dramatically boost high speed Internet access across the state leveraging a series of new grant programs, education initiatives, broadband mapping improvements, and digital equity proposals.
The ConnectALL initiative was in turn largely made possible by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which continues to quietly help fund numerous impressive fiber expansion projects all across the country.
Surge Link offers Syracuse locals a symmetrical 100 megabit per second (Mbps) wireless connection for $15 a month for low-income households and $37 a month for other local residents, with no usage caps, contracts, or hidden fees.
"Access to reliable, affordable broadband is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity for education, healthcare, employment, and civic participation," said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. "By bringing Surge Link to these key neighborhoods, we are ensuring that Syracuse residents have the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy.”
Surge Link’s local efforts come as the federal government has effectively abandoned any effort to ensure equitable broadband access to low-income Americans, including last year’s refusal of GOP leaders to fund the popular FCC Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided a $30 broadband discount to low-income Americans.
"Syracuse's Surge Link expansion represents exactly the kind of innovative, community-centered approach that drives real economic development,” Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said of the city’s efforts.
Inline image of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh at a Launch Party for Surge Link courtesy of Syracuse Northeast Community Center Facebook page
