BUFFALO, N.Y. — As ErieNet officials, along with county executive Mark Poloncarz, kicked off its annual meeting in the lobby of One Seneca Tower, spools of fiber optic cable were collected at the county DPW barn in West Falls.
Ready for Mother Nature to cooperate so installation of the 400-mile fiber optic network can begin.
"We're pretty much on schedule, which is really unique to say," said ErieNet executive director Mellissa Hartman. "We didn't exceed our budget in terms of how much it would cost to build the to build a network."
Erie County is using $34M from the American Rescue Plan fund that it received. The network, which was first announced by county executive Poloncarz in 2017, will be installed in nearly every municipality in the county, and connect all municipal buildings.
During the annual meeting, Hartman announced that the Rath Building will be home to the PoP (Point of Presence), which is essentially the nerve center of the network.
Harman also announced that construction should be at full speed by June and that they hope to install 10 miles of fiber optic cable per week.
Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that ErieNet filed an application with the state broadband office (ConnectAll) and is seeking $21M to expand the network even further.
"We're hopeful to take a part of some of this ConnectAll funding that's available so that we can expand our network," Hartman said.
The ConnectAll office offers a Municipal Infrastructure Program that grants funding for "last mile, open access, public infrastructure."
Hartman says that if ErieNet receives this grant, they will have their first commitment from a provider to tap into the network and deliver high-speed internet to county residents.
"Even on an ISP standpoint, they're starting to realize the benefit of partnering with an open access network, and that they will have a better ability to get out to these businesses and residents on by partnering with us," Hartman said.