Free Wi-Fi service begins today at Rosedale Ridge public housing in KCK
In October, The Pitch reported on Connecting for Good, a local nonprofit that wanted to bring free wireless Internet access to the residents of Rosedale Ridge, a Section 8 housing complex in Kansas City, Kansas.
Michael Liimatta, Connecting for Good’s president, had hoped to get Google Fiber to provide a connection that the residents of the eight buildings could share. Google, however, wasn’t game because the arrangement would have violated its terms of service. But who needs Google Fiber? Or Time Warner, for that matter?
This morning, free Wi-Fi access went live at Rosedale Ridge, Connecting for Good announced. The organization did it by becoming its own Internet service provider, blasting a 100-megabit signal 3.8 miles from downtown KCMO to the apartments. A dish at Rosedale Ridge sends the signal to antennas that broadcast the signal to the residents.
The nonprofit held an outreach event this morning to tell residents about the project.
“They were intensely excited,” Liimatta says. “We knew we would get a warm reception, but we were overwhelmed. And these were just the moms and single parents bringing their kids to the buses.”
