The email address for inquiries about the new Surge Link service was freeinternet@syracusesl.com. Mayor Ben Walsh’s press release announced “free broadband internet access to 2,500 households” in the first sentence. The Syracuse Housing Authority urged residents to attend a launch ceremony so they could learn “how to apply for the FREE service.”
But four months after launch, new Surge Link enrollees now have to pay $10 per month, and about 500 residents who signed up for free service before Feb. 8 may face a monthly charge in the spring.
It’s the result of a federal program’s expected lapse. The Affordability Connectivity Program has subsidized broadband service for 23 million income-eligible U.S. households, including those who signed up for Surge Link. Part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program will run out of funding some time in April unless Congress takes action, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The agency froze new applications for the program as of Feb. 8.
That step affected the city’s Surge Link, plus major internet service providers such as Spectrum and Verizon that participate in the program to give income-eligible customers $30 credits so they can more easily afford service. In Syracuse, about 24,500 residents served by the two major communications companies take advantage of the subsidy. The companies now have notices about the program’s expiration posted on their website, and they’ll be required to provide additional notifications directly to affected customers.
“I think we all need to be encouraging our federal representatives to think about some program similar to the Affordability Connectivity Program in the future because we know we have a huge need here,” Jennifer Tifft, Syracuse’s director of strategic initiatives, told the Syracuse Common Council on Wednesday. “The fact that 40% of Syracuse households are enrolled in that program shows how badly people in our city need a discount on internet.”
The council unanimously passed a resolution at its Feb. 5 meeting urging Congress to pass and President Joe Biden to sign proposed legislation that would extend the program through the end of this year. While Biden and the Democratically controlled U.S. Senate have expressed support for extending the program, the GOP-led House of Representatives has opposed new spending on these types of programs without cutting costs from something else.
Central New York’s U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams, a first-term Republican, did not respond to a syracuse.com inquiry about his stance on the proposed legislation. Five GOP members of the House from New York state have co-sponsored the bill, but Williams is not one of them.
The looming end of the federal subsidy comes as Syracuse officials are exploring ways to expand its fledgling Surge Link service beyond the initial pilot area focused on low-income residents in the Southwest, Near Westside and Brighton neighborhoods. The city is moving forward on the effort even though the ability to provide free service is in jeopardy.
The council will vote today to authorize the Walsh administration to apply for a state grant worth up to $30 million that would cover the cost of building out broadband infrastructure that the city would own and use to expand Surge Link. Tifft said the grant could allow the city to extend service to the North Side and the rest of the South Side. Depending on how much state funding can be secured, the entire West Side also could be covered. Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds paid for the city’s initial buildout of infrastructure for the pilot program, which is administered by Geneva-based Community Broadband Networks.
Because the city still has ARPA funding for broadband to spend, it can offer the $10 per month rate for Surge Link once the Affordable Connectivity Program funding expires. With households served by private providers potentially looking at $30 increases, demand for Surge Link could be even greater, Tifft said.
“We’re talking about being able to provide high-speed internet at $10 a month, which is going to be significantly cheaper than what they’re going be able to get through a commercial provider if they want home internet,” Tifft said. “And I think we are all in agreement that home internet is a very important utility, especially today.”
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