ENDING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS

BRIAN HALL — FOUNDER, NYC MESH

Forty-six percent of New York City households that live in poverty lack broadband internet access. Brian Hall wants to change that. His nonprofit NYC Mesh, a community Wifi initiative, offers an affordable way to circumvent internet service providers and bring high-speed internet access to underserved neighborhoods—without harvesting and reselling user data.

Whereas most Wifi services rely on a few access points, or hotspots, mesh networks use hundreds of smaller nodes, which collaborate to pass data along. Joining NYC Mesh is free, but members are encouraged to donate $20 to $60 per month, if they can. The initiative is still small—about 600 buildings are hooked up—but Hall says it’s the largest community-owned network in the Americas and hopes it will inspire others to “take back control of their internet connection.” This year the city awarded NYC Mesh a contract to outfit housing developments in the Bronx and Crown Heights, Brooklyn with mesh routers, to bring the city a step further in closing its digital divide.