Coming to Downtown Buffalo and It’s Free!

They say nothing in life is free.  You could say the air is free, but they're probably working on a way to charge you for that too.  This is something that's coming to downtown Buffalo very soon - free outdoor Wi-Fi.

M & T Bank, the University of Buffalo and the City of Buffalo are working on an outdoor internet wireless network extending along Main Street from North Street to Canalside.  It'll feature 30 "hot spots" along Main Street with an effective range of about 250 feet.  So anybody within range can go online with their laptop, smartphone or other mobile device.

The network will use infrastructure already in place.  The city is allowing it with the idea it would be the first step in allowing internet access to areas of the city that are considered underserved.

There are currently 40 publicly owned Wi-Fi networks operating in 13 states.  An official announcement about Buffalo's new Wi-Fi network will be made on Tuesday.