Community Partners Team Up To Bring WiFi To South Baltimore Families In Need
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Getting people connected online has never been more important.
Now, community partners are trying to get more internet access to neighborhoods in south Baltimore that need it.
It's an internet desert in Brooklyn, where many still aren't connected to the digital world. People are often faced with tough financial decisions that plague many neighborhoods experiencing the digital divide in Baltimore like whether to eat or spend money on an internet connection.
The United Way of Central Maryland is working to change that after neighbors said the problem needed to be fixed.
"What we heard in Brooklyn/Curtis Bay was that connectivity was a huge issue still," said Heather Chapman, the vice president of United Way Neighborhood Zones.
So they partnered with RowdyOrb.it, a local company that tries to bring internet access to underserved communities.
After months of planning, they came up with a project: a set of 11 public WiFi antennas throughout Brooklyn and Curtis Bay to bring the essential service to people who don't have it.
The first antenna will be put up on the roof of the nonprofit, City of Refuge, located on 7th street.
People within about a block and a half will be able to access the wifi and the network will grow with each additional antenna being installed in the coming months.
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