Here's a great article in the New York Daily News about some of the
work that we've been doing with Monroe College. Thanks for making
these projects happen, Rob!
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Students spread wi-fi
Tech wizards bridge digital divide in city
BY BILL EGBERT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Increasing numbers of city residents will be able to surf the Web
while they dunk their doughnuts, thanks to technology students at a
Bronx college.
Students in Monroe College’s advanced wireless technology course are
installing wireless Internet connections at several locations in the
Bronx and upper Manhattan, including a Dunkin’ Donuts in the east Bronx.
Last semester, they installed wi-fi in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Park,
and at a Harlem coffee shop.
“It’s good experience for them in a cutting-edge job,” said their
professor, John McMullen. “And it’s a service to the community as well.”
Not only will the Web access be free to anyone with a wi-fi-ready
laptop, the installation and equipment are essentially free to the
hot spot hosts.
While the students earn college credits, the hardware is donated by
NYCwireless, a nonprofit promoting free wi-fi access in the city.
“The Monroe College students have done a lot of really important
work,” said Dana Spiegel, executive director of NYCwireless.
“They’re really plugged into their community. They’re the ones who
know where the best places will be for new hot spots. They also help
involve the community, which is crucial.”
While City Hall is lagging far behind cities such as Chicago and
Philadelphia in backing citywide wi-fi networks, small-scale
initiatives like Monroe’s and SoBRO’s new hot spot at the HUB are
starting to fill the gap – to the delight of local businesses left on
the wrong side of the digital divide.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Billy Gonzales, owner of
Billy’s Deli & Grocery at 83 West Fordham Road, due to be wired
shortly. “Our customers are excited too. I think it’ll be good for
business.”
Other spots the class will turn hot this year include the Dunkin’
Donuts on Boston Road and Burke Ave. in the Bronx, Java’s Brewin’
Coffee Shop in Harlem, Coogan’s Restaurant in Washington Heights and
Little Hands Day Care in Brooklyn.
Monroe’s first collaboration with NYCwireless – wiring Stuyvesant
Park in Manhattan – was a first in more ways than one. The hot spot
was installed in conjunction with alternative energy nonprofit
SolarOne, and is the first solar-powered wireless access in the New
York area.
An interactive map of free wi-fi hot spots throughout the metro area
can be found at http://www.nycwireless.net.
Bronx businesses interested in being wired as a public hot spot can
contact McMullen at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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