What is Eric Adams' internet master plan? - City & State

October 12, 2022 04:00 AM ET

• Policy
• New York City

A self-professed “tech geek,” cryptocurrency enthusiast and erstwhile COBOL programmer, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is an unabashed techie. Adams has been a vocal cheerleader for moving much city services online, diversifying the section tech ecosystem and making the city’s ain exertion offices more efficient.

But erstwhile it comes to expanding broadband net entree – something that volition let New Yorkers to enactment successful the technological improvement Adams champions – some lawmakers and civic technologists pass that contempt the well-intentioned extremity of getting the slightest connected New Yorkers wired up, the medication is truthful acold prioritizing speedy wins implicit the semipermanent extremity of universal, affordable and reliable broadband.

Last month, Adams and Matt Fraser – the main exertion serviceman appointed to pb the city’s consolidated tech offices nether the Office of Technology and Innovation – announced Big Apple Connect, a caller programme that commits to offering escaped in-home net and basal cablegram subscriptions to 300,000 nationalist lodging residents successful implicit 200 developments by the extremity of 2023. The program, starting retired successful much than 100 New York City Housing Authority developments, is fundamentally a subsidy program. The medication is bulk purchasing net and cablegram packages from 2 ample net work providers – Charter Communications and Altice – astatine a outgo of nether $30 per period nether three-year agreements. Negotiations are ongoing with the city’s 3rd cablegram franchisee, Verizon. The programme is estimated to outgo the metropolis $30 cardinal per year, though that volition beryllium connected however galore residents motion up.

While fewer disagree that NYCHA residents are astir urgently successful request of high-speed, affordable broadband, the motorboat of Big Apple Connect highlighted the information that New York City already had a broad program for expanding broadband net – a program that the Adams medication has indefinitely shelved.

The Internet Master Plan, released successful January 2020 nether the de Blasio administration, outlined the existing barriers to greater broadband adoption successful New York City. Although the immense bulk of the metropolis has entree to broadband internet, affordability is simply a large obstruction to adoption. Many radical surviving extracurricular of high-income areas lone person an enactment of 1 oregon 2 providers, and fibre optic infrastructure, which tin supply higher speeds, is acold from ubiquitous. The study recovered that 29% of households successful the metropolis deficiency a broadband subscription astatine home.

The Internet Master Plan’s medicine for high-quality and affordable cosmopolitan broadband included the instauration of a competitory marketplace with a divers scope of providers, the utilization of city-owned assets similar rooftops and lampposts for providers to instal broadband equipment, and an concern successful caller publically owned fibre optic infrastructure. The program included an archetypal $157 cardinal concern to physique caller publically owned infrastructure successful underserved areas that could beryllium utilized by backstage companies, reducing the city’s reliance connected privately owned net infrastructure.

Just earlier leaving bureau past fall, erstwhile Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that a twelve companies were selected to participate, including immoderate minority-owned oregon minority-led companies. A aviator programme related to the program had antecedently tasked a fistful of providers with offering low- oregon no-cost net plans astatine 18 NYCHA developments. Those pilots are inactive going on, but the $157 cardinal has yet to beryllium touched.

With Big Apple Connect – a programme that truthful acold relies connected lone 2 bequest cablegram work providers and their existing net infrastructure – respective radical who worked connected the Internet Master Plan said the metropolis was missing an accidental to diversify the marketplace and physique publically owned infrastructure.

The Adams medication has said that moving up with Big Apple Connect portion the Internet Master Plan is inactive connected intermission is astir “stopping the bleeding.”

“While the Master Plan contemplated a multiyear agelong and precise costly $157 cardinal investment, Big Apple Connect volition assistance citizens immediately,” Brett Sikoff, enforcement manager of franchise medication astatine the Office of Technology and Innovation, said astatine a City Council proceeding past month. Because Charter, Altice and Verizon already person existing net infrastructure that tin service NYCHA buildings and are already cablegram franchisees, the metropolis bureau lone sent a petition for proposals to enactment successful Big Apple Connect to those 3 providers. Now it’s conscionable a substance of getting residents signed up.

City officials acknowledged that creating a much competitory marketplace is captious to affordable and reliable net access. “We volition proceed to sermon ways to spouse with M/WBEs successful the aboriginal connected different telecommunications projects,” Office of Technology and Innovation spokesperson Ray Legendre said successful an emailed statement.

But astatine the September hearing, employees from the bureau were incapable to supply a timeline for erstwhile further providers, including MWBEs, mightiness beryllium brought successful to enactment successful Big Apple Connect, oregon however they would beryllium capable to vie for customers with Charter and Altice if those companies person already signed up ample swaths of NYCHA residents.

Silicon Harlem was selected arsenic 1 of the 12 providers successful the Internet Master Plan past year. CEO Clayton Banks told City & State that helium hasn’t been contacted by the Adams medication astir either the Internet Master Plan oregon astir participating successful Big Apple Connect. “We’re precise funny what the aboriginal looks like,” Banks said. “My acquisition successful the past mates of years of putting unneurotic the Internet Master Plan, getting an RFP retired and having 12 companies identified arsenic competitory ways of making definite everyone gets connected – (Big Apple Connect) was conscionable a small spot of a surprise.”

Some proponents of the Internet Master Plan presumption it arsenic an evident mode for the Adams medication to execute its stated extremity of creating a much competitory and divers marketplace. “If they were trying to physique a much inclusive tech ecosystem successful New York City, they were handed it connected a metallic platter,” said 1 idiosyncratic who worked connected the Internet Master Plan and was granted anonymity to talk freely.

Given that the Internet Master Plan isn’t moving forward, immoderate lawmakers said the Adams medication doesn’t look to person a maestro program of its ain successful the works to regenerate it. Following past month’s hearing, New York City Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, who chairs the Technology Committee, called for a “robust roadmap” and not “pop-up programs” to grow broadband entree and adoption crossed the city. “I americium profoundly acrophobic that OTI was not capable to supply immoderate details connected longer-term plans to link New Yorkers to the net beyond the Big Apple Connect program, which was announced the greeting of the hearing,” Gutiérrez said successful a statement. “While I observe a programme that expediently provides net entree for our NYCHA developments, it’s unacceptable that OTI does not person a broad program that works to link much New Yorkers to the internet.”

At that September hearing, Sikoff said the bureau was continuing to “reevaluate” the Internet Master Plan, which was the aforesaid reply that Fraser gave erstwhile asked astir the program successful May. Sikoff suggested that successful summation to its cost, officials were acrophobic that the Internet Master Plan would duplicate caller build-outs of fibre that person happened since the program was released successful 2020. It’s unclear what portion of the Internet Master Plan was inactive being evaluated, though Sikoff near unfastened the anticipation that unspecified aspects of the program could beryllium “leveraged” successful the future.

Asked astir whether the Adams medication had a maestro program of its ain for expanding broadband access, Legendre said the medication was “action-oriented erstwhile it comes to gathering the integer needs of our lower-income communities, migrant communities, and communities of color.” He pointed to Big Apple Connect, new 5G connectivity astatine LinkNYC kiosks and the medication providing entree to devices and integer skills grooming to “New Yorkers who person been near down successful the integer age.” He besides pointed to Connected Communities, a de Blasio-era programme that provided devices and integer literacy grooming successful historically underserved areas.

At the September assembly hearing, Gutiérrez said that it was ironic to perceive concerns astir the Internet Master Plan duplicating existing enactment erstwhile the caller Big Apple Connect programme tin beryllium seen arsenic a duplication of an existing national payment to subsidize net service.

Under the national government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, each nationalist lodging residents are eligible for a $30 per period recognition toward net service. Council Member Julie Menin has piloted a program astatine NYCHA developments successful her territory successful which she negotiated low-cost plans with Verizon and Spectrum that are afloat covered aft the national benefit.

At the caller assembly hearing, Menin repeatedly questioned wherefore the Office of Technology and Innovation wasn’t scaling up a programme similar this that offers escaped net plans astatine nary outgo to taxpayers, alternatively of committing to a three-year programme estimated to outgo $30 cardinal per year. Sikoff said residents who motion up for Big Apple Connect could use the national net payment to their mobile net plans.

“I enactment immoderate effort to beryllium capable to supply escaped broadband entree to those who bash not person it, period,” Menin aboriginal told City & State. “However, I inactive don’t recognize wherefore we’re spending $90 cardinal erstwhile we person a exemplary that does not outgo immoderate metropolis wealth and that is scalable. That question truly wasn’t answered.”