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Using WiFi to Bridge the Digital Divide

Posted by timothy on from the doesn't-even-take-much-of-a-grant dept.

andori writes "CNN is running a story about how WiFi is enabling low-income residents Internet access. The project is set at a public housing development in Boston, Massachusetts. Residents buy the WiFi NIC, and the access if free. It is nice to see people making an effort to expand the reach of the Internet to a broader audience."

5 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. I do that now.. by xchino · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The apartments I live in are inhabited by a bunch of broke ass young adults such as myself. Me and 7 or 8 of my geek friends in this all pitch in on a leased line and then operate a WiFi hotspot for anyone in the apartment to use.

    The problem we run into most is still the cost of the hardware. For people who don't make alot of money, getting started can really take some sacrafice.

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    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
  2. keep the internet free by maxbang · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This rules - another way we can keep information free to all, especially to people who can use it to improve their lives. Someday broadband will be a reliable public utility.

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    I also reply below your current threshold.
  3. Wow! by delta407 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    U.S. Department of Commerce data from 2001 indicated that 78.9 percent of people in families making $75,000 or more had Internet access, compared to 25 percent of people from households earning less than $15,000 a year.
    What a breakthrough! It seems that people below poverty level are more concerned with survival than Internet access -- who would have thought? ...how much did that study cost?
  4. Wireless Anarchy by blocsync · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Allowing free access like this seems to have the potential for chaos. Accountability for who is doing what over the connection would be a painful process at best. Hopefully they'll incorporate some type of authentication with a pre-registration required, even if it is free, just to create a sense (even if it ends up being false) of accountability.

  5. Re:FP! by WallsRSolid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a legitimate point, which is incredible for a first post.

    Anyhow, it seemed that free dialup failed because it was a) too slow, and b) had way too many ads. I suspect this will be more successful, as these aren't such a problem.

    Re: poor people not having computers. Often there are families who recognize that they should hop onto the technology bandwagon, for themselves or for the sake of their children. What prevents many of them from investing in technology is the monthly fee of a net connection, not so much the initial cost of the computer.

    Unfortunately, these poor people will probably pay the windows tax since they don't have the kind of computer experience and education to use linux, which would ironically be much more enabling to them.

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    Fatal Attraction