Erie County’s ErieNET broadband initiative is taking shape with the introduction of the new ErieNET Business Plan (“the Plan”), prepared by ECC Technologies, Inc. and outlining the much-anticipated initiative’s mission, marketing, operational development, governance and more. The Plan, which can be read here:

https://www3.erie.gov/economicdevelopment/press/erienet-broadband-services

will serve as the blueprint for the development and launch of ErieNET to include nearly 400 miles of new broadband infrastructure in Erie County spanning 152 community anchor sites. The initiative’s estimated construction cost of $36 million is covered primarily by federal American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) funding, with $2.8 million in county funding allocated to support backbone construction of the new network.

“Broadband infrastructure is essential to business, education, healthcare and life in the 21st century and the ErieNET initiative now taking shape will provide 400 miles of such infrastructure across Erie County. This Plan is the template for a sustainable and financially viable open access network that has the capacity to grow and provide service for decades in areas that are currently unserved or underserved,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “The pandemic made plain just how critical quality, high-speed Internet is to our lives, and too many residents have been left behind as a result of telecommunications companies’ short-sighted business decisions in the past. My administration is changing that, and thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan we will be putting a county-spanning 400-mile fiber network in place to better connect and serve county residents and businesses far into the future.”

ErieNET will provide a robust, middle-mile broadband infrastructure throughout the county, attracting both fiber and wireless providers for last mile services, particularly those in more rural communities. By creating an open access network Erie County will lower barriers of entry for service providers, create competition and choice for both business and residential customers and will project the City of Buffalo, the county and the region at large as a leading technological community.

Quality of life and government and public safety operations will be improved while schools and communities are better connected. Public libraries, Town and Village halls, various county-owned facilities, and other sites are included among the 152 identified anchor sites for the initiative.

Poloncarz continued, “We are well underway planning the structure and shape of ErieNET and the results are encouraging. This will be a project that undergirds economic development and growth in our communities, providing business with the reliable Internet service it needs, while also aiding in job retention and resident employability. Additionally, while we are expanding improved broadband services to the rural and underserved areas in Erie County, we are laying the groundwork for further technological improvements and fostering public-private partnerships to continue improving access, performance and competitiveness for our communities. This is a truly transformational project.”

Erie County has established ErieNET LDC to address ownership and governance issues associated with the broadband initiative, and the network’s fiber optic backbone will be available or open to any entity within the County that is willing to contract with the ErieNET LDC. Opportunities for linkage to ErieNET will be explored with all entities in the County, including carriers and service providers seeking to lease space.

The ErieNET business plan will be formally presented to the LDC board next month, and the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning will be issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for construction management and engineering services in the coming days.