ErieNet has been touted by Erie County as a potential resource for rural residents who can’t access the internet in other ways.
But after allocating millions toward the project since 2019, Erie County needs to reevaluate under-served areas and what is financially viable, said Christine Czarnik, a Republican candidate for county comptroller.
“5G would be, it's wireless, it'd be far less expensive to install," she said. "5G is not as fast as broadband, but end-user satisfaction studies have shown that 5G is equal to broadband in end-user satisfaction.”
The county has installed only around 20 miles of fiber since April.
But the project was paid for using American Rescue Plan funding, not directly from the county or taxpayers, Erie County Executive Chief of Staff Ben Swanekamp said.
That means all work must be finished by the end of 2026, which is the deadline to expend all ARPA funds.
“You have to go through a process called make-ready, where you are — for every single telephone pole — putting together a packet of information and application with engineering items and other reviews that have to go through each of those companies," Swanekamp said. "And so, we can only move as fast as NYSEG and National Grid can move.”
5G isn’t an really advantage, he adds, since it still requires assistance from fiber optic infrastructure.
