Town of Aurora Broadband Initiative
Closing the rural broadband gap in Western New York. A digital equity proposal for Cayuga County's underserved communities where nearly one in three households lack adequate internet access.
Rural broadband is infrastructure, not a luxury.
The Town of Aurora sits in Western New York, straddling Erie and Cayuga Counties. While the village center of East Aurora has reasonable broadband service, the surrounding rural areas face a stark connectivity gap. Residents in southern and northern Aurora routinely experience download speeds below the FCC's 25/3 Mbps broadband threshold — and many have no wired broadband option at all.
This gap is not just an inconvenience. It affects students who cannot complete homework assignments. It affects farmers who cannot access precision agriculture tools or commodity markets. It affects elderly residents who cannot access telehealth services. It affects home-based businesses that cannot compete in an increasingly digital economy.
The Town of Aurora Broadband Initiative (TABI) is a proposal to close this gap through a combination of municipal fiber infrastructure, digital equity programs, and community partnerships. The initiative draws on successful models from across the country and adapts them to the specific needs of rural Western New York.
Where connectivity falls short.
Broadband coverage across the Town of Aurora varies dramatically between the village center and surrounding rural areas. The further from East Aurora village, the worse the connectivity.
Rural Aurora vs. the rest of the country.
Four pillars of digital equity.
Infrastructure Assessment
Comprehensive mapping of existing broadband infrastructure across the Town of Aurora. Identified gaps in fiber, cable, and fixed wireless coverage using FCC Form 477 data cross-referenced with resident surveys.
Municipal Broadband Model
Developed a proposal for a publicly-owned fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network modeled on successful municipal broadband deployments in Chattanooga, TN and Wilson, NC. Projected cost-per-household and revenue sustainability over a 20-year horizon.
Digital Equity Framework
Proposed subsidized connectivity tiers for low-income households, a public Wi-Fi program for community centers and libraries, and device lending programs to address the hardware gap alongside the connectivity gap.
Economic Impact Analysis
Estimated that closing the broadband gap could increase property values by 3-6%, enable remote work opportunities for 200+ households, and support small business growth in agriculture, tourism, and home-based enterprises.
Broadband is the infrastructure of the 21st century. Without it, rural communities like Aurora are locked out of education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and civic participation. The Town of Aurora Broadband Initiative is a proposal to ensure that geography does not determine who gets to participate in the digital economy.