ONE|NB Connects: Community Wi-Fi Press & Media

by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of ONE|NB and Christopher Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance discuss the Olneyville neighborhood, situated on the west side of Providence, and how significant health disparities in that community led ONE|NB to jump into action over the summer to build a free wireless network for the residents. Jennifer and Christopher talk about mapping the network, placing hardware on ONE|NB-owned buildings, and putting up 12 access points to cover more than half of the community with robust wireless. She shares why the project’s been worth it, and the health outcomes they...

Thu, November 12, 2020 |  by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken Originally posted on November 12, 2020 at Muninetworks.org When the pandemic hit American shores this past spring and cities around the country began to practice social distancing procedures, Rhode Island-based nonprofit One Neighborhood Builders (ONB) Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins quickly realized that many of those in her community were going to be hit hard. As spring turned to summer, this proved especially to be the case in the Olneyville neighborhood in west-central Providence, where Covid-19 cases surged among low-income residents with fewer options to get online to work, visit the doctor, and…

“The internet is a public utility – No one questions whether you should have access to clean water and heat and so forth, right? For so long we just considered the internet to be a luxury, a convenience. But it really has absolutely transcended that at this point in time.“ October 7, 2020 Steve Ahlquist Upriseri.com ONE Neighborhood Builders has achieved its fundraising goal of $200,000 to launch ONE Neighborhood Connects, a mesh WiFi network that will cover five million square feet in Olneyville and provide approximately 4000 neighborhood residents with access to free, high-speed internet. The WiFi mesh will be live…

PROVIDENCE – When the insurance company where Tinisha Brice works told employees in March that they would need to begin working from home because of the coronavirus, a wave of anxiety swept over her. She had been through a lot over the years, even battling homelessness, but she had finally found an apartment that she loved in Olneyville at the western edge of the city, just steps away from a playground. She had a newborn child and a daughter in high school at home. But the family was missing a tool that would make it nearly impossible for Brice to…