Downtown Buffalo now connected to FREE Wi-Fi

The Queen City can now be added to the growing list of US cities that offer free Wi-Fi as Buffalo Connect – the new outdoor, public Wi-Fi network running along Main Street in downtown Buffalo and into the popular Canalside area – is now available for use by downtown residents, employees and visitors. 

The new service was launched on July 14th by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, M&T Bank Chairman and CEO Robert G. Wilmers and University at Buffalo President Satish Tripathi. M&T Bank led the effort to engineer, purchase and install the system in partnership with the City of Buffalo, UB and 16 other public- and private-sector partners. 

The network operates through more than 30 “hot spot” access points running along Main Street. The access points, which have a range of approximately 250-feet, are now installed and operating from the Theater District through Canalside and Erie Basin Marina. Additional access points are being installed to extend the network to North Street, on the doorstep of the growing Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

The public network will allow downtown residents, workers and visitors another way to visit Web sites, use social media and even stream video - so let the selfies and #hashtags fly freely. Of course users should keep in mind however that information transmitted on public Wi-Fi networks is not encrypted, and public Wi-Fi networks should not be used to convey private information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.

In the coming weeks I am sure that we will here tons of feedback as more people have an opportunity to test the new Wi-Fi. We spent some time in Niagara Square this afternoon and though not lightning fast, the connection we good enough to check some email and compose this post!