Buffalo News
Editorial: Improving broadband is a key to making Biden relief bill pay dividends in Western New York (Buffalo News)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 15:32As Buffalo's internet speeds rank among slowest in US, consumers can't do much
City politicians and technology leaders pitch Buffalo (NY) as a nascent tech hub, envisioning a rosy future where every child owns a laptop and geeks flock downtown with their edgy startups. But the city may face a major obstacle before this grand vision even gets off the ground: Its internet speeds rank among the country’s slowest, according to two separate analyses by The Buffalo News and the technology firm Ookla. Ookla’s Dec internet-speed report ranked Buffalo’s speeds fifth-last, ahead of only Cleveland (OH), Toledo (OH), Memphis (TN), and Laredo (TX).
In Buffalo's 'digital deserts,' more than half of households lack internet
The digital divide looks like Buffalo’s (NY) Broadway Market on a Friday afternoon: a dozen round tables thronged with lunchgoers – and nary a laptop or tablet among them. Most households in this neighborhood don’t own such devices, new first-of-its-kind federal data show. And even fewer have the means to go online with them, either at the Broadway Market or in their own homes.