03/22/07 Neighborhoods Will Get Free Wireless Net Access
Neighborhoods Will Get Free Wireless Net Access
The Capital Times
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By Katie Dean The Capital Times
A new program is bringing free wireless Internet access to several north and east side Madison neighborhoods later this year, in what could be the first step in bringing similar services to other parts of the city.
A $5,185 grant from the Wisconsin Community Fund is helping to bring the low-income Darbo-Worthington neighborhood and mixed-income Troy Gardens co-housing project online at no cost to residents.
Madison Community Wireless Advocates and DaneNet, a technology training and nonprofit organization, are providing the expertise to get the networks up and running, and then neighborhood volunteers will provide ongoing support.
Residents should be able to surf the Net by this fall, said Norm Stockwell of MCWA.
"A community wireless network is an important part of a democracy," he said. More and more, the Net is the medium people use to connect and communicate, find jobs, access news from all corners of the world and engage politically.
When people don't have online access, "you begin to create this divide (between) people who are able to participate in these debates and people who are left out of these debates," Stockwell said.
People who live in the participating neighborhoods will be able to wirelessly connect to the Internet on their home computers for free. Those who don't have a PC can get online at several public computers, which will likely be stationed at neighborhood centers.
According to Lori Nitzel, a board member with the Worthington Park Neighborhood Association, the online access should benefit about 400 people living in the low-income apartment buildings in her neighborhood, as well as those who live in the surrounding single-family homes.
About 30 homes in Troy Gardens will benefit, in addition to those who work or volunteer in the adjacent gardens and farm.
Working with her neighborhood association, Nitzel has seen the lack of access among her low-income neighbors firsthand.
"Most don't have computers, period," Nitzel said.
To address that additional problem, the group hopes to collect old computers from businesses or individuals who are upgrading their technology.
"There's a lot of tech stuff that people are throwing away and we'd love to grab that and make use of it," she said.
In addition, Nitzel said the project is applying for other grant money to "build your own computers" and get neighborhood kids and parents to participate. "We're going to tap into as many sources as possible, so people can take advantage of the free wireless."
\ E-mail: kdean@madison.com