Syracuse Announced as Finalist for Smart Cities North America Awards
Published on February 28, 2024
Mayor encourages community to vote online for Syracuse in the Digital Equity and Accessibility category
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the City of Syracuse has been named a finalist for the third year in a row in a North American award competition that recognizes progress by municipalities in implementing smart cities technology. IDC Government Insights selected Syracuse as a finalist in the Digital Equity and Accessibility category for its community broadband service, Surge Link™.
The winners in each of the 14 award categories will be selected based on results from an online public voting process. Members of the public can vote for Syracuse at goto.syr.gov/idcsmartcities. Voting will be open through Friday, March 8.
“Digital equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning and access to essential services. As New York’s flagship smart city, this nomination reflects our leadership in bridging the digital divide in Syracuse,” said Mayor Walsh. “I encourage people across Syracuse and Central New York to go online and vote for Surge Link.”
Surge Link™ is a fixed-wireless access (FWA) solution that provides high-speed internet service to City residents. The City of Syracuse is using $3.5 Million of American Rescue Plan Act funding to build out the internet network to serve 2500 residents in the Southside, Near Westside and Brighton neighborhoods, and is currently evaluating options to expand the service to other neighborhoods in Syracuse where internet connectivity is low.
The City of Syracuse claimed top honors in the 2022 Smart Cities North America Awards in the Sustainable Infrastructure category for its work converting its street lights to a smart lighting network with energy efficient LED lights, and in 2023 in the Next-Generation Emergency Services category for its forward-thinking snow plow map and other technology enabled snow removal operations.
In all, 42 entities in the United States and Canada are up for awards across 14 categories. The City of Syracuse and the City of New York are the only honorees from New York State. Also recognized in the Digital Equity and Accessibility division are the CVG Airport (Erlandger, KY), the City of Seattle, WA and the City of Irving, TX.