Three east side neighborhoods will soon be getting free public Wi-Fi. And according to the city, it could be a small glimpse as to what the entire city will be like sooner rather than later.
The Urban Neighborhood Initiative, KC Digital Drive and Siklu (manufacturer) have teamed up to provide gigabit Internet speeds to local Kansas City residents. Using nine to 10 wireless towers, a free public Wi-Fi network will be created where current fiber can't reach.
The three areas will encompass three to four square miles, impacting the areas of 31st and Troost, 34th and Forest and the Ivanhoe neighborhood.
A press release read in part:
"The project will provide free service to some homes, even where wireline is available, to help serve as an onramp to the Internet by eliminating a cost barrier to getting online. The project will also provide immediate connectivity to some underserved buildings and locations while creating a sense of community ownership over the network. Critically, the project will teach members of the community how to install and maintain the network, building skills and leading to job opportunities in a growing field."
Bob Bennett is the city's chief innovation officer. He would like to see Kansas City officially named the world's smartest city within five years. Reaching that goal means getting everyone connected and trained to use the Internet.
"That's how you do research before you get a job. That's where you fill out a job application. That's where you figure out the directions to the location of an interview or subsequently to a job site," said Bennett.
Aaron Deacon is the director of KC Digital Drive. Part of their focus will be training people after they have access to the free Wi-Fi.
"We're actually training people from the community to install the network. And so there's an element of skills training and if really thinking about how you can build your own Internet ... and provides value to workforce skills."
The project will be up and running within the next four to eight weeks and will undergo a six-month trial before expanding. However, Kansas City is also currently a semifinalist for the Department of Transportation's Smart City Challenge, a federal grant worth more than $40 million. If won, some of that money would go toward more free public Wi-Fi.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
