FCC hails Mayor Daley's plan to bring technology to 5 neighborhoods
Wireless Internet access along a 26-block stretch of 63rd Street. Free refurbished computers as an incentive to complete technology training. Family NetCenters and Community Craig’s Lists to support local businesses.
Five months after designating four impoverished Chicago neighborhoods as “digital excellence demonstration communities,” Mayor Daley on Monday added a fifth neighborhood to the list and put some meat on the bone.
The plan to flood Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Chicago Lawn, Pilsen and the latest addition, Humboldt Park, with technology was hailed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski as a model for the nation.
“As we develop the national broadband plan in Washington, we’re paying a lot of attention to the smart actions being taken in cities like Chicago,” Genachowski said.
Daley argued that bridging a digital divide that has left nearly 40 percent of Chicagoans with little or no access to the Internet is as important to cities today as paving streets and building water and sewer systems was in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
“Many Chicagoans haven’t embraced broadband and digital technology because they see it as too hard or too expensive,” Daley told a news conference at the Churchview Senior Campus and Supportive Living Facility, 2626 W. 63rd St.
“These tough economic times demand that we roll up our sleeves and re-double our efforts to address the challenge of the digital divide head-on….And also the Board of Education has to be committed to new technology in all of our schools — from early-childhood, elementary and high schools all the way to community colleges — to have one system working together.”
In August, 2007, rising costs, declining demand and increased competition from private Internet providers killed Daley’s ambitious plan to build a wireless Internet access system attached to streetlights and lamp poles.
In addition to flooding the five neighborhoods with technology, Chicago has now applied for $110 million worth of federal grants to cover the expense of laying fiber to underserved communities.
If the city gets even a portion of that money, the pipe being installed along 63rd Street to bring free broadband to area businesses could be dramatically expanded.
“The pipe we’re putting in will be so wide, we will be able to extend out a mile to the north and a mile to the south,” said Jim Capraro, CEO of the Greater Southwest Development Corp.
“Not only could [a Southwest Side company] become a regional caterer, but younger people or maybe even older people two blocks away might start a Web site business and collaborate with people all over the world.”
A federal grant could also provide technology assistance to local businesses like the Perfect Peace Café & Bakery, 1255 W. 79th St. The cafe already offers Wi-Fi to its customers, but owner Julie Welborn only has two electrical outlets.
“I gotta get more outlets….People are starting to come in and kind of camp there for a while. I don’t want to rush ‘em out,” Welborn said.