Every1online
A partnership that provides free internet access to communities in need
Every1online
Internet access is crucial for so many parts of modern life—remote school work, telemedicine appointments, job applications, grocery orders and even socializing. But many people in our community do not have access.
Together with our partners, we constructed affordable wireless infrastructure to serve three pilot communities in Coraopolis, New Kensington, and Homewood. We are connecting more families every week.
About the Project
In March and April 2020, a small team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers, program directors, and outreach specialists began holding regular office hours to help local educators transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. They observed a stark inequity: high-need school districts and historically underserved communities in the Pittsburgh region were struggling to access the technological materials and resources needed for the rapid shift to remote school, while wealthy districts and communities had access to the technology they needed.
To respond to this, CMU partnered with Meta Mesh Wireless Communities, a local nonprofit broadband provider, and three anchor community partners: Cornell School District in Coraopolis, Homewood Children’s Village in Homewood, and Penn State New Kensington/New Kensington Arnold School District in New Kensington, to construct affordable wireless infrastructure to serve these three communities.
We have completed a wireless hub installation on the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning and point-of-presence relay installations in Homewood and Coraopolis, allowing us to connect families in those locations to the internet each week. We are currently installing the point-of-presence relay in New Kensington, and will begin in-home installations there soon.
Our Partners
Carnegie Mellon University
Partners from CMU facilitate the Every1online collaboration, co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy materials, activate institutional social capital to support community goals, and co-design research products and connect with practice when appropriate and mutually beneficial.
University of Pittsburgh
Partners from the University of Pittsburgh co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy materials, share resources and physical infrastructure for the network, activate institutional social capital to support community goals, and co-design research products and connect with practice when appropriate and mutually beneficial.
Partners from Penn State New Kensington share resources and physical infrastructure for the network and activate institutional social capital to support community goals.
The team from Meta Mesh Wireless Communities leads design on technical infrastructure and co-designs digital literacy materials, builds and grows long-term relationships with community organizations in partner communities, and co-designs research on practical impacts of the network.
Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER)
KINBER partners share resources, relationships, and high-speed fiber-optic networks.
Partners from CLP co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy resources and activate institutional and social capital to support community goals.
Partners from ITDRC consult and advise on technical infrastructure design and network implementation; advocate for wireless equity in national forums.
Partners from HCV co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy materials, activate community ties to guide service provision and lead outreach, co-design research on practical impacts of the network.
Partners from CSD co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy materials, activate community ties to guide service provision and lead outreach, co-design research on practical impacts of the network.
Partners from NKASD co-design technology infrastructure and digital literacy materials, activate community ties to guide service provision and lead outreach, co-design research on practical impacts of the network.
In the News
- Mellon Foundation grant aims to add low-cost Wi-Fi to high-need communities, Trib Live
- Relationships Mesh to Help Bridge the Digital Divide, Remake Learning
- Meta Mesh wants to use community wireless networks to bridge Pittsburgh’s digital divide, Technical.ly
- Pitt, CMU partner with nonprofits, school districts to provide free internet access to city households, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Contact Us
Maggie Hannan
Simon Initiative Associate Director for K-12
mqhannan@andrew.cmu.edu
Ashley Patton
Director, CS Pathway Programs, SCS Dean's Office
awpatton@andrew.cmu.edu