Norris Square organization increases community access to free internet

Faced with inadequate internet service that was driving away businesses, the remote West Texas town of Monahans launched a community-driven initiative to build its own fiber optic broadband network. The town cobbled together $3.2 million from a variety of sources, including federal CARES Act funds and venture capital, to create an underground fiber network that serves about 2,000 homes and businesses, with plans to expand.

A group of women known as the Mamacítas Cibernéticas are conducting outreach in Sunland Park, New Mexico, to gauge the digital literacy needs of locals — particularly older Hispanic women. They’re using that information to lobby lawmakers for computer training programs to help bridge the digital divide.

The free, public WiFi network LinkNYC addresses the digital divide exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. LinkNYC replaces old payphone kiosks and provides high-speed WiFi hotspots and allow for phone calls, device charging and access to social services and local information.

Hudson was an internet desert, with slow and unreliable internet services and companies refusing to provide better internet since it wouldn't be very profitable. Thus, the city created its own internet company-Velocity Broadband, which already has more business customers than expected, has been receiving positive feedback- including residents wanting to access the service, and has sparked businesses to move to the area.

Multiple organizations in Philadelphia are joining forces, such as The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the new Office of Clean and Green, to transform the city’s several thousand vacant lots into green spaces. Even Temple University has executed a new "Verdant Temple" master plan, creating specific green spaces for the public. A University of Pennsylvania study found a 29% reduction in gun violence in neighborhoods where vacant lots were cleaned and restored, and the city is investing nearly $20 million annually in these efforts.

Kansas City is the largest U.S. city to adopt a zero-fare policy since its public bus system stopped charging riders in 2020. This policy change gives riders more financial flexibility and improves social and physical health outcomes as residents are walking more to get to bus stops and are also more connected to the community through increased access to transportation.

A rural county in Texas brought broadband access to locals with the help of internet service provider Nextlink, the Citizens Broadband Radio Service and Tarana Wireless. Following a $2.6 million investment, over seven months, the partners built infrastructure that offers download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 megabits per second.

The Red Cloud smart city project is greatly improving local residents’ quality of life and leading to reduced crime rates in the city. The project installed new LED streetlights with AI-enabled overhead cameras, Wi-Fi access in homes that didn’t have access previously, as well as air quality monitoring devices. Since the new improvements were made, morale in the city has significantly improved and there are plans in place to scale the program and improve neighboring cities, as well.

School districts and cities in California are looking to create their own local Wifi networks as a long-term solution to the digital divide, and an alternative to hotspots. Some are even becoming internet service providers themselves (ISP) — efforts, they say, that will make it easier to provide internet access to those who can’t afford it.

Arizona State University’s SolarSPELL project developed a waterproof device with a solar panel and other equipment that allows users to connect to “offline WiFi” networks and browse preloaded webpages. SD cards store open access educational content and national education ministries have the ability to add national textbooks and other culturally relevant content. About 25 users can connect without slowing browsing speeds and the ASU team provides training on how to use the device. While the device is primarily charged using the solar panel, it can also be charged using electricity during cloudy weather.