It finally happened. Municipal WiFi has come to Downtown Buffalo. This week, Mayor Brown held a press conference to announce the undertaking, as well as to test out the new system. By partnering with M&T Bank and the University at Buffalo, the City was able to come up with the new service, which will be available to downtown residents, employees and visitors.
“If downtown Buffalo is going to be a thriving engine of opportunity for all city residents, we must find ways to support the entrepreneurs who are driving technological advances and creating jobs,” said Mayor Byron Brown. “By providing city residents, members of the business community and visitors with free public Wi-Fi, we will continue to attract more people and business to downtown Main Street, while making targeted investments to improve our city’s wireless infrastructure. I thank M&T Bank for leading the effort to engineer, purchase and install the system in partnership with the City of Buffalo and the University at Buffalo as we work together to further strengthen our economy.”
M&T Bank led the installation initiative, including the engineering, purchasing and installation of the system. “Every day it seems, downtown Buffalo is adding new residents, new employers and employees, new visitors, new and redeveloped buildings—and now new public Wi-Fi. Buffalo Connect will make downtown Buffalo an easier place to stay connected, and that’s good for our City, and for the people who live, work and visit here,” said M&T Chairman and CEO Robert G. Wilmers.
- More than 30 “hot spot” access points running along Main Street
- Access points, which have a range of approximately 250-feet
- Zone is from the Theater District through Canalside and Erie Basin Marina
- Additional access points are being installed to extend the network to North Street
- The system is not encrypted – best not to convey private information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers
The project was also made possible with the help of 16 other public and private sector partners. UB was also instrumental in getting the ball rolling, and assisted with fiber assets and network engineering design and management. UB also took care of logo design and branding work.
“This is a great time to be in Buffalo—whether you are working here, studying here, or coming to visit and enjoy all our great city has to offer. UB is excited to partner in the expansion of our region’s Wi-Fi capabilities to better serve the people in our downtown corridor each day. This network will be a terrific asset to our community, and we are proud that we can lend our leadership and expertise—including the involvement of our student engineers and artists—to make this regional fiber network a reality,” said University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi.
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and National Grid were also brought in to deal with infrastructure solutions. “We are very pleased to be a partner in this progressive project that broadens public access to free Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the downtown corridor. This will allow users easy access to our transportation websites, which provide real-time bus information, Metro time tables and airport flight schedules,” said NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Mink