Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church (Northern Liberties), Philadelphia

BlocPower, Metro IAF and People's Choice Narrow the Digital Divide with Innovative Cooperative WiFi Installation Connecting 2,500 NYCHA Residents in the Bronx

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
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"We are incredibly excited today to bring this much-needed, low-cost WiFi alternative to Melrose and Courtlandt Avenue residents so that they can enjoy all the benefits of broadband access – for education, work, job training and job seeking, connecting with friends and relatives, communicating with healthcare professionals, or even streaming music or video content – without having to choose between Internet access or paying bills and putting groceries on the table," said Donnel Baird, CEO of BlocPower. "What began as the by-product of our efforts to convert New York City's aging, urban buildings into smarter, cleaner more eco-friendly ones, installing community-owned urban WiFi networks has now become an important part of BlocPower's expanded mandate -- to help close the digital divide in America's underserved communities."

Key Points: 
  • The other Bronx NYCHA housing complexes to be upgraded include Forest, Morris I, and Morris II.
  • "I'm proud to have worked with BlocPower, PCC and Metro IAF to ensure a successful buildout of the Wi-Fi infrastructure at this public housing development.
  • Metro IAF is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation's first and largest network of multi-racial, multi-faith, broad-based citizens organizations.
  • People's Choice Communications is an employee-owned cooperative formed by members of IBEW Local #3 to bridge the digital divide and help our neighbors get connected to the Internet.