New York libraries check out CBRS as Wi-Fi alternative

In New York City (NY), students without broadband access face additional challenges given the reduced number of parking lots and places more rural students have been forced to go to get wi-fi during the pandemic. “A number of donors offered to help fund initiatives to extend Wi-Fi,” remembers Garfield Swaby, vice president for information technology at the New York Public Library. But Swaby knew Wi-Fi wasn’t the answer. “I don’t know if it would be able to get off the sidewalk,” he said. Conversations with Seattle’s University of Washington researchers and Jason Eyre of Utah's Murray City School District convinced Swaby to evaluate Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) using General Authorized Access. Grants totaling $1.5 million were solicited from S&P Global Fund and another private donor. Swaby knew the libraries would be able to check out CBRS gateways to patrons because they already had a history of hotspot lending. He didn’t know exactly how his team would architect the network, so he invited multiple vendors to trial their technology at various library locations throughout the city. In September 2022, the New York Public Library will evaluate the results of the trial and decide whether to continue investing in CBRS. Swaby said the library might seek federal funding to help subsidize the cost of the gateways for end users. But he’s not completely sure the project will move forward. “CBRS isn’t a panacea,” he said. “It is a layer in a multi-layer solution to bridge the digital divide.”