Enrollment opens for the City of Syracuse’s community broadband pilot program

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Enrollment has started for the City of Syracuse’s pilot program to provide free broadband-internet access to 2,500 households.

The program, called Surge Link, is available to eligible residents in Syracuse’s Southwest, Near Westside, and Brighton neighborhoods, the office of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced this week.

The new program is a “key component” of Syracuse’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) plan, per the announcement.

Applications for Surge Link are available online at syracusesurgelink.com, by email at freeinternet@syracusesl.com, or by calling (315) 325-5000.

Applicants must live in “designated, underserved census tracts in the pilot area” and either meet income requirements or participate in other federal-assistance programs including but not limited to Federal Public Housing Assistance, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“Limited access to reliable, affordable internet service deprives children from learning opportunities and minimizes access to jobs, healthcare, and other online services that many of us take for granted. Without closing the digital divide that plagues lower income neighborhoods, we can’t achieve our Syracuse Surge goal of inclusive growth in the New Economy,” Walsh said in a statement. “Surge Link will change people’s lives for the better now. We will actively be evaluating this pilot and look forward to expanding the service in the future to provide affordable, high-speed internet to underserved households in other Syracuse neighborhoods.”

Following a nationwide request for proposals, the city selected Community Broadband Networks (CBN) of Geneva for a three-year contract to design, install and maintain the Syracuse network.

The Syracuse Common Council authorized $3.5 million in ARPA funds for the pilot phase of the program, Walsh’s office said.