City of Los Angeles launches Crenshaw Connected, free Wi-Fi service
The first free Wi-Fi program in the city of Los Angeles was celebrated on Thursday, as city leaders announced the launch of Crenshaw Connected.
South Los Angeles residents and visitors along a portion of Crenshaw Boulevard are to benefit from the program, as it addresses digital inequity.
"This is what equity really looks like, and this is digital empowerment," Los Angeles Councilmember Heather Hutt said.
The global technology company, Cisco, partnered with Los Angeles, the Bureau of Street Lighting, the California Community Foundation, Destination Crenshaw, and Digital Equity LA for the initiative.
City workers installed 1 1/2 miles of underground fiber optic cable stretching from Leimert Park Plaza to the Hyde Park Metro Station.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said he saw digital inequity come to light during the pandemic.
"Watching what happened during COVID was just heart-wrenching and devastating," he said. He described people "crouched next to a McDonald's trying to get their email" and in their cars in library parking lots connecting to the internet.
According to Cisco, the network was built on top of existing city-owned street lighting assets, and the company deployed cloud-managed Cisco outdoor access points, "Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul," allowing for free Wi-Fi.
"Cisco's purpose is to power an inclusive future for all, and expanding internet access directly translates to educational and economic opportunity," Gary DePreta, Cisco's senior vice president for U.S. Public Sector said in a statement.
