This project has been a few years in the making, and several people have had their hand in it. Essentially, the Mission Hill Main Streets organization along with several area Institutions are creating municiapal wireless service for the area of Mission Hill in Boston.

The first stage of service is focused on serving the Mission Main housing development just west of Wentworth Institute of Technology. Testing of this intitial access point is currently underway. Eventually, service to the business district on Tremont Street will be the main focus of the effort. The goal is to provide equal opportunity Internet access to those with computers, who aren't able to have their apartment buildings wired for access.

Along with the phased rollout of the Internet service, Wentworth Institute will champion an education initiative to the residents of Mission Hill in an attempt to gap the "digital divide" that separates area residents. We expect to provide assistance and lasting education on topics such as use of the service, writing blogs, using text messaging, and a whole host of technology topics. These topics are collectively reffered to as "What's Now, What's Next" at our office.

I encourage you to visit the Center for Community & Learning Partnerships website and find out more about this fantastic initiative. A summary of the intial operations plan can be found here.