New Partnership Brings Accessible Wi-Fi to Low-Income Housing

"Everyday, we use the Internet to investigate pressing issues in our lives: education, jobs, immigration, health care and other vital issues." -- Rey Ramsey, One Economy CEO

Meraki, a provider of Wi-Fi networking solutions, and One Economy, a global nonprofit that leverages technology to help people improve their lives, today announced a new partnership that continues the push for digital inclusion by delivering affordable broadband Wi-Fi to more than 100,000 low-income housing families in the United States and around the globe over the next two years.

As part of a multi-year agreement, One Economy will deploy Meraki solutions to low-income communities in every location it provides services to starting with major U.S. cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Residents of these housing developments will be able to access crucial information and education resources that are available online.

"Everyday, we use the Internet to investigate pressing issues in our lives: education, jobs, immigration, health care and other vital issues." said Rey Ramsey, One Economy CEO. "Meraki's technology has already enabled us to quickly cover a housing development with a strong, reliable wireless signal that doesn't require much upkeep. By taking on this new challenge we are bringing affordable broadband access to the people who need it most."

With powerful hardware and integrated cloud-based management services, Meraki is a solution for medium and large-scale wireless infrastructure deployments. Networking systems and technologies enable rapid network installation and a revolutionary new model of management through cloud computing. Both of these technologies enable the creation of better Wi-Fi networks at lower costs.

One Economy has already used Meraki's Wi-Fi networking solutions to bring free and low-cost broadband to more than 15,000 low-income people across the United States. For example, One Economy used Meraki devices to bring high-speed Internet access to the Park Boulevard housing development, a public-private partnership established with the Chicago Housing Authority. This effort connected 45 units of low-income housing that are part of a larger mixed income development covering two city blocks.