Thomas Quinlan, Vice President of Commercial Lending at HarborOne Bank, delivers a $30,000 check that will be used toward our expansion of ONE|NB Connects, the free community WiFi mesh network in Olneyville.
PROVIDENCE—Thomas Quinlan, Vice President of Commercial Lending at HarborOne Bank, delivered a $30,000 check to the ONE|NB offices on Thursday, January 13, 2022, that will be used toward ONE NEighborhood Builders’ expansion of ONE|NB Connects, the free community WiFi mesh network in Olneyville.
The money, from the HarborOne Foundation, will be used to expand the existing mesh network, offering free internet access for low- and moderate-income households.
RELATED LINKS:
- ONE|NB Awarded $125,000 To Enhance And Expand WiFi In Olneyville
- More about ONE|NB Connects
- ConvergenceRI: A Voice Of One’s Own: Free Wifi Network In Olneyville To Expand Its Reach
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, ONE|NB understood that many people in the Olneyville neighborhood, its historic home, did not have reliable, in-home access to the internet, which was suddenly crucial for children to attend remote classes and for people to obtain telehealth services. ONE|NB knew that only 66.1% of households in Olneyville had internet access between 2015 and 2019, compared with a citywide access rate of 78.2%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
To help solve this problem, in less than 9 months, ONE|NB conceived of, planned, and launched a mesh WiFi network—which currently provides free internet to more than 1,700 unique users.
Phase 2 of ONE|NB Connects aims to reach approximately double the number of unique users, fill gaps in coverage, and increase bandwidth in the neighborhood.
