30% of Brooklyn Households Lack Access to Broadband and Over 11% of New York City Students Lack Access to Wi-Fi Outside of School
Just 25% of Tech Jobs are Held By Women
To view B-roll, Speaker Remarks and photos of the event, click HERE
Brooklyn, New York – March 23, 2023 – LinkNYC, in partnership with the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), ZenFi Networks, tech education non-profit Digital Girl, and special guest Grand Master Flash dedicated the state-of-the-art Brooklyn Gigabit Center. Located in the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Crown Heights, the center offers free high-speed internet access powered by LinkNYC’s public Wi-Fi for the local community, along with tech education workshops for students and access to tablets, laptops, and workstations.
Today, more than one million households in New York City lack access to broadband, with lower rates of connectivity in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. In Crown Heights, where the Brooklyn Gigabit Center is located, 36% of households do not have broadband internet access. This digital divide has a significant impact on children, with a shocking 11 to 13 percent of New York City students lacking access to Wi-Fi outside of school — making it significantly harder for them to complete homework or participate in remote learning.
The Brooklyn Gigabit Center will address this divide by providing free access to high-speed Wi-Fi for all New Yorkers, with a focus on increasing access for students and hosting tech workshops for younger New Yorkers. In addition, the Brooklyn Gigabit Center is the largest Gigabit Center in the city. The center will work in partnership with non-profit Digital Girl to uplift tech education for girls to address the fact that only 25% of technology jobs are filled by women.
“Across the city, New Yorkers still struggle to access affordable broadband — this digital divide keeps over a million of our neighbors offline and makes it harder for them to access essential services, complete their homework, or keep in touch with family,” said Nick Colvin, CEO of LinkNYC. “We have an obligation to ensure everyone has the access they need, especially students. That’s why we are excited to launch the Brooklyn Gigabit Center, provide Brooklynites with the broadband access they deserve, and partner with Digital Girl to inspire the next generation of technology leaders.”
“Whether completing homework or learning to code, students in underserved communities rely upon equitable internet and device access to keep pace with their peers and to explore potential career horizons,” said New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser. “This new Gigabit Center in Crown Heights, where 36 percent of households lack broadband access, ensures that participating students have the digital tools and skills training necessary to excel in our modern world. I thank Mayor Adams for his resolute commitment to bridging the digital divide and our partners at LinkNYC and Digital Girl for their efforts to deliver exciting opportunities to Brooklyn.”
The launch of the Brooklyn Gigabit Center is a part of LinkNYC’s partnership with OTI to help bridge New York’s digital divide. Last year, LinkNYC and ZenFi Networks began deploying 2,000 next-generation Link5G kiosks as part of this partnership, which provide New Yorkers with free high-speed Wi-Fi, free nationwide calls, and faster, more reliable 5G mobile broadband service. In addition, by installing the fiber optic “backbone” infrastructure everywhere LinkNYC kiosks are deployed, LinkNYC is making it easier and cheaper for New Yorkers to get high-speed broadband internet access at home.
LinkNYC, OTI, and ZenFi Networks are also opening at least one Gigabit Center in each borough. To date, centers have been opened in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and the Staten Island Gigabit Center is expected to open in the coming weeks. These centers all provide free broadband internet access powered by LinkNYC’s public Wi-Fi network, plus community-specific training and workshops.
“Digital Girl is proud to partner with LinkNYC and ZenFi to open the Brooklyn Gigabit Center and help bridge the digital divide,” said Michelle Gall, Executive Director of Digital Girl. “There is an important, understandable focus on socioeconomic divides within access to broadband and Wi-Fi — but there is also a large gap in women and girls’ digital adoption compared to men and boys. The Brooklyn Gigabit Center will offer opportunities for all students to get online and excel in digital literacy, and we are going to make sure Brooklyn’s girls have the support they need to take that step.”
“The Brooklyn Gigabit Centers, along with the others in Queens, Harlem, and the Bronx, and soon to be Staten Island, represent our ongoing commitment to bridging the digital divide across every borough of New York City. Today’s launch brings high-speed internet, digital literacy training, free access to laptops and workstations, and workforce development programs, all powered by the free LinkNYC public Wi-Fi network – to Brooklyn,” said Victoria Lamberth Co-Founder and CRO of ZenFi Networks.
“The Brooklyn Gigabit Center will not only provide individuals from all walks of life with reliable, free internet, but it will ensure opportunities for education and growth reach those same people through its plentiful STEM programs – serving the diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities that are key to the future of our community. I am proud to join the chorus of celebration at its opening,” said Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
“The launch of the Brooklyn Gigabit Center is an exciting and important step in the ongoing efforts to bridge the digital divide across the City,” said New York City Council Tech Committee Chair Jennifer Gutiérrez. “This state-of-the-art center, located in the heart of Brooklyn, is a physical manifestation of the City’s progress towards ensuring access and that everyone can succeed in the digital age.”
To view photos from the event, click here.
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ZenFi Networks:
ZenFi Networks, a BAI Communications company (BAI) soon to rebrand as Boldyn Networks*, is an innovative digital infrastructure company focused on delivering wireless siting, network edge colocation and fiber optic network solutions in the NY-NJ metro region. As the area’s most experienced communications infrastructure builders, ZenFi Networks has an unparalleled reputation for efficiently architecting and delivering solutions that enable mobile network operators, wholesale telecommunications providers and large enterprise clients. With its purpose-built C-RAN infrastructure, ZenFi Networks is at the forefront of network architecture innovation and a critical part of the digital ecosystem in one of the biggest, most important markets in the world. *BAI is bringing together our six companies BAI in the Northern Hemisphere, Mobilitie, Signal Point Systems, Transit Wireless, ZenFi Networks and Vilicom, and rebranding into one powerhouse called Boldyn Networks.
W zenfi.com or W baicommunications.com
About LinkNYC
LinkNYC is the world’s largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network. Each Link kiosk provides free superfast Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging, access to social services, and displays content such as real-time weather, transit info, public art, and local information. The city-wide network has more than 11 million Wi-Fi users and has connected more than 25 million free phone calls. All of LinkNYC’s services are completely free to users and taxpayers, provided by CityBridge, a partnership led by Intersection and ZenFi Networks. The second generation offering will deploy thousands of new kiosks, called Link5G, enabled with 5G wireless technology across the city. For more information about LinkNYC or to find a Link near you, visit www.link.nyc.
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