Syracuse.Com

Access to affordable, reliable broadband may have once been viewed as a luxury, but there is no question that it has now become an integral part of our daily lives. Similar to how we view electricity and other utilities, internet access is essential in the 21st-century—critical for everything from remote work and job searching, to education and socializing.

Some of Syracuse’s poorest neighborhoods will soon have free broadband service. City lawmakers approved a $3.5 million plan to build a new city-owned wireless network. Syracuse will use federal stimulus money to provide service in 10 Census tracts on its south, southwest, and near west sides.

The newly enacted New York state budget requires nearly all internet providers to sell broadband service for $15 a month to low-income customers who qualify for food stamps, Medicaid or similar benefits. Internet providers have 60 days to start offering minimum internet speeds of 25 megabits per second for $15 a month to qualifying customers. They have the option to provide 100 Mbps service for $20. The mandated service is similar to what state regulators already require from two of the state’s largest providers, Spectrum and Optimum.