Community partnership leads to “pop-up” broadband access

A partnership between a public library and community center in rural Virginia is bringing “pop-up” broadband access to unconnected members of the community.The Central Rappahannock Regional Library, which has laptops and printers for public use, partners with the Belmont Community Center, which has broadband service. Members of the community can stop by the community center to connect once a week to use the Internet, and now wi-fi service from the community center is available 24/7, even when the community center is closed. The creators of the program see it as a pilot project, and expect more hours will be available as demand grows.

“It’s an area that doesn’t have a lot of broadband network service, so we’re really excited to bring these kinds of services outside of our branches and down here in the southern part of Spotsylvania,” said Chris Glover, the library’s assistant director for information technology. “It’s just a great partnership that is really providing a service for this end of the county that they haven’t been able to have before.”

This partnership is an example of communities creating innovative solutions to close the digital divide in their neighborhood. But there are 23 million people in rural communities without a broadband connection. Public and private investment are necessary to encourage broadband deployment and close the digital divide.

Link:

'Pop-Up' Library Brings Internet Access to Rural Virginia (Digital Communities, May 12, 2017)