April 2020

The Internet itself is being tested like never before. To understand how these challenges are testing, more than ever, both the Internet’s technical foundation and the society that relies on it, the Center for Data and Computing (CDAC) is launching a new initiative to deploy our expertise and collaborative relationships towards studying how this pandemic has affected the Internet network — how it is responding globally, and how well local communities are able to make use of it.

An agreement between the city and Greenlight Networks should help the local company expand into the Rochester neighborhoods. But obstacles remain with securing easements and access to utility poles. And while the pact was touted as a means to close the digital divide, it is uncertain how and when low-income customers might benefit. Greenlight's initial projects, already in planning with customers signed up, will be in Park Avenue and Cobbs Hill neighborhoods this summer and fall.

There’s a belief out there that households don’t really want or need more than a basic broadband connection, much less gigabit connectivity. This mistaken impression especially affects rural areas, where observers point out that a resident may have more fingers on their hand than Megabits per second (Mbps) on their current Internet connection, so surely they’ll be satisfied with a bump up to broadband speeds of 25 or 50 Mbps. However, demand for high-speed connectivity is actually quite robust in rural areas where the infrastructure exists.