Warsaw, NY (WBEN) Wyoming County residents are about to have a cow, a Speedy Cow that is. The county introduces its new community-owned internet service Wednesday.
"We've got a combination of radio, Wi-Fi, and fixed wireless, and fixed fiber, and the goal and mission, working with our partner, Community Broadband Networks, was to provide internet to those across the entire county that either did not have internet service available to them or were underserved," says Wyoming County Administrator Steve Schrader. He says the county obtained $15.8 million from Empire State Development to fund this venture. He says the county will own the system, and CBN will manage it on the county's behalf.
Schrader says it came really to light during COVID, when schools were doing everything virtually,. "We had residents within the county that could not access any type of a virtual environment because they didn't have internet access, so not only is it going to be great for the residents of the county, but also for commercial and agricultural businesses across the county that were underserved or did not have internet access at all," says Schrader.
Schrader says residents in the county can sign up Wednesday. "We offer not only broadband service but also any type of streaming television services, as well as telephone service, so the rates will vary based upon the speeds that they would like to have at their home, and we do have, as required by state development, a low-income option for those that meet certain criteria," adds Schrader.
For years, Erie County has been trying to launch ErieNet, so how did Wyoming County beat Erie County to the punch? Schrader admits he doesn't now enough about the ErieNet system, but it is a very in-depth process. "We've got 21 what are called POP sites, point of presence towers that we had to either acquire lease space on or utilize our own towers, that is a very involved process to get those leases in place, so if Erie County is doing what Wyoming County is doing as it relates to providing radio service via towers, then that would take quite a bit of time in design," says Schrrader.
The county is holding a kickoff event tat 2pm at the village park in Warsaw, with live music, food trucks and giveaways.
To register, you can go to www.speedy-cow.com or call 585-823-3550.
Community owned internet launches
Community owned internet launches
