Meraki Brings Affordable Broadband To 100,000 Low Income Families

Given recent green industry talk surrounding free internet and conquering the digital divide,  Meraki, a leading provider of Wi-Fi networking solutions has recently decided to partner with One Economy, global non profit. The partnership pushes digital inclusion by delivering affordable broadband Wi-Fi to more than 100,000 low-income housing families.

Meraki is a San Francisco based private start-up company that was born out of a research project initiated by Sanjit Biswas and fellow Harvard PhD students. Meraki’s Wi-Fi networking technology drastically reduces the cost of deploying reliable Wi-Fi networks. The start-up has successfully implemented its networks in a variety of situations already, both residential and educational. 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, San Francisco, and eventually throughout the globe.

Providing in-home broadband Internet access to the residents of low income-housing developments will make crucial information such as financial opportunities, jobs, education resources and so on significantly more accessible to the people that need it the most. Currently, only 42% of American households making under $30K have broadband access in their homes compared to that of 82% of households making more than $75K (Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project 2008).

“We believe open, constantly available access to information has the power to transform lives,” said Sanjit Biswas, Meraki CEO. “Meraki’s leading technology makes it possible to deliver high-speed Internet access to affordable housing communities across the globe at significantly lower costs and we’re excited to work with One Economy to deliver this access to the people who need it most.”

Meraki’s customers span 125 countries and range from operators covering individual buildings, to large carriers connecting entire towns and regions at disruptively low costs. For more information visit www.meraki.com.

Imaged Credits: Meraki