Erie County lawmakers react to $36M ErieNET broadband project plan

ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — ErieNET has been an ambitious system for county government Mark Poloncarz. A person that virtually grew to become a monetary target of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Using American Rescue Prepare Act resources, having said that, ErieNET is alive once again and even has a small business strategy. 

The county unveiled its business prepare, which you can go through underneath, that lays out the framework for the $38 million challenge. 

The 400-mile venture will make a ring close to Erie County and hook up anchor establishments in the City of Buffalo, but more importantly in the rural locations that are substantially underserved. 

The business strategy, created by ECC Technologies (not affiliated with SUNY Erie) identified two most important targets for ErieNET:

• Improve the availability of large-speed broadband world-wide-web to provide a lot more Erie County inhabitants
• Raise neighborhood broadband levels of competition for each residential and business consumers.

Multiple resources have instructed 2 On Your Side that Constitution, which operates as Spectrum, has no fascination in connecting to the ErieNET fiber strains and connecting service to households. 

The small business prepare does emphasize and relies on additional carriers to lease space on the ErieNET center mile to join those people underserved communities. 

ErieNET will not straight join to residential properties, and the county is not receiving into the residential ISP company. 

The approach does outline that there will be detrimental revenue for at least five decades. Those people losses, on the other hand, will be allotted for in the cash secured by the ARPA resources. 

Of the $38 million wanted for the challenge, $2.8 million is coming right from the county. 

In accordance to the plan, ErieNET will join to 40 distinct Town/Village halls, 37 libraries, 11 county towers, and other anchor web sites. In total, 152 distinctive sites will be related to ErieNET. 

The company program introduced Thursday exclusively pointed out that the University at Buffalo, as effectively as the metropolis of Buffalo, have expressed “significant curiosity” in the ErieNET project. The county is at the moment negotiating with both of those institutions over finances and participation in the undertaking. 

One place that isn’t currently being related to ErieNET is the Town of Wales. 2 On Your Side has questioned county officials about this, but has not received clarification as to why. 

You can read the small business strategy right here: