Chattanooga's Wi-Fi network built to connect computer users at city buildings and recreation centers could be expanded to provide internet links in underserved neighborhoods under a plan to be developed with the backing of a new $40,000 grant.
The National Science Foundation and Mozilla Foundation announced Thursday they have picked the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga to share in part of $2 million being distributed for projects across the country that help bridge the digital divide between those with Internet connections and those who lack such service.
In this 2015 staff file photo, Enterprise Center's President and CEO Ken Hays participates in a tour of the Edney Building which houses CoLab and the Enterprise Center.
From left, Mayor Andy Berke, Brookings Institute scholar and author Bruce Katz and Enterprise Center President Ken Hayes walk down Georgia Avenue while touring the downtown Innovation District on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.The Enterprise Center, which has already provided training and equipment to more than 2,600 individuals through its Tech Goes Home program, will use the grant money to study how to expand access and reach more people left out of the digital economy because of a lack of internet connections.
The city developed "NoogaNet" - the name picked for the service based upon a poll in 2015 - by rewiring city-owned public buildings, including 18 youth and family development centers and City Hall, to make them fit for secure Wi-Fi access.
"This will allow us to study ways that we might take NoogaNet and use that in a neighborhood to work on improving connectivity in underserved neighborhoods," said Ken Hays, president of the Enterprise Center. "I think this is great recognition for our community and this allows us to build on our ongoing efforts toward digital inclusion and connectivity for those who are disconnected."
The Enterprise Center was among 20 grant recipients picked for zthe "bright ideas" competition from Mozilla. If successful, the concept could gain even more funding in August when finalists will present live demonstrations of their prototypes at an event in Mountain View, Calif.
"Some 34 million Americans - many of them located in rural communities and on tribal lands - lack high-quality internet access," said Jim Kurose, assistant director of the National Science Foundation for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "By supporting ideas like the ones that have surfaced through these challenges, internet access could be expanded to potentially millions of Americans, enabling many social and economic opportunities that come with connectivity."
The winners from cities across the country are building mesh networks, solar-powered Wi-Fi, and network infrastructure that fits inside a single backpack. Winning projects were developed by veteran researchers, enterprising college students, and everyone in-between, Kurose said.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges from organizations like Nokia, Columbia University, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Chattanooga boasts the fastest internet speeds in the Western Hemisphere through 10 Gig internet links by both EPB and Comast. But about one if four households in America still lack any internet access, either because it is not available, is not affordable or is not understand or appreciated.
"As the value of being connected to the internet steadily increases, Americans without affordable access to the net are increasingly excluded from a world of social, educational, and economic possibility," Mozilla Fellow Steve Song said in the announcement of the grants. "The 20 projects short-listed are evidence of the potential that now exists for thoughtful, committed citizens to build affordable, scalable, secure communication infrastructure wherever it is needed."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.