Page last updated on April 27, 2023 at 11:33 am
In this week’s video update, Mayor John Hamilton and Bloomington Housing Authority Administrator Leon Gordon discuss the new fiber internet network and the impact of the innovative digital equity program.
Designed to be accessible to every Bloomington resident, regardless of income level, the City and Hoosier Fiber Networks continue to collaborate on one of the country’s most comprehensive, inclusive, and innovative public-private partnerships to help low-income and digitally disadvantaged households access top-quality internet service.
Eligible low-income residents may qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) to receive at least a symmetrical 250 megabits per second (Mpbs) plan at no cost to the user if ACP is applied. The City and Hoosier Fiber Networks will together provide the “drop” connection to qualifying households. Residents can find more information about low-income qualifications by visiting GigabitNow’s website at: gigabitnow.com/bloomington
Only fiber is robust enough to deliver the stability and symmetrical upload and download speeds needed for remote work, education, and healthcare. It is less prone to outages due to built-in redundancies, and it is a generational solution with nearly unlimited scalability and adaptability to future applications.
Read more about the new fiber network and digital equity program at: https://bton.in/DhIMX
Transcript
John Hamilton:
Hi, it's Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton again with you, and I'm with a guest today, Leon Gordon from the Bloomington Housing Authority. If you can introduce yourself, Leon?
Leon Gordon:
Yes. Leon Gordon with the Bloomington Housing Authority. I'm the administrative director. I have been there for about five years now.
John Hamilton:
Great. Thank you for being here with us, Leon. And we're talking today about the new digital infrastructure that's coming to Bloomington, and there's a lot more information about that for that whole program; getting fiber internet to everywhere in the city, which we're really excited about, is really important. But there's a particular part of it that I wanted to talk with you about, which is the city's put a million dollars on the table, and we're working with Hoosier Fiber Network and GigaBitNow to help to make sure everybody has access to the internet. And in particular, households that may be on free and reduced lunch or Social Security disability or food stamps, all those things, women, infants, children, welfare, and public housing will have basically free internet. And I'm really excited about it, and I wanted you just to talk about kind of your residence and what this might mean to them.
Leon Gordon:
Yeah. So yeah, those benefits extend to our Section Eight voucher holders as well.
John Hamilton:
Yes, voucher holders too.
Leon Gordon:
And so we've-
John Hamilton:
And there's a bunch of them. There's 1200 or 15.
Leon Gordon:
Adherence within city limits, about 1400 households-
John Hamilton:
Yeah.
Leon Gordon:
...supported by Section Eight vouchers.
John Hamilton:
Yeah. It's a lot.
Leon Gordon:
The services department at the Bloomington Housing Authority, we've been doing work to get folks connected to the Affordable Connectivity Program.
John Hamilton:
That's that $30-a-month federal program.
Leon Gordon:
That's a $30 a month federal program.
John Hamilton:
Right.
Leon Gordon:
And prior to that, it was restricted to a lifeline. So it [inaudible 00:01:58] mobile devices. And so now the federal government has funded it to support internet access. And so we've been doing work to try to educate our clientele that, "Hey, yes, you can have both. This is an opportunity where you don't have to worry about internet access."
John Hamilton:
And what we're doing with GigabitNow, the fee is $30 a month. So that federal program, that's what makes it free, including the drop to the house where they are. I think about it, if you're a family that's got kids on free and reduced lunch, you can have free internet. So when they're doing their schoolwork or when they're home school's off, and it's remote, they have great access. Right?
Leon Gordon:
Yes. Yes. They can work on their focus study. My daughter does that.
John Hamilton:
Oh, yeah.
Leon Gordon:
And so anytime there's a work from home day or even just supplemental education, I think children are sent home with different learning opportunities that having internet at home is essential.
John Hamilton:
We were talking, I think you said too often, families, households dealing with this have to apply for benefits, they have to reapply or re-certify. And if you can't do it online, you may have to physically go there. So having this access is-
Leon Gordon:
Yeah, bridging gaps between other potential challenges that our families have. Transportation.
John Hamilton:
Yeah.
Leon Gordon:
So if you don't have physical means to get there, applying means getting with someone to help you, going somewhere where there is internet.
John Hamilton:
Physically go there. I see. Yeah. Yeah.
Leon Gordon:
And so, yeah, having the internet access at home, it's a lifeline. It's a lifeline to resources and being able to get verifications for things.
John Hamilton:
Right, right, right.
Leon Gordon:
Oftentimes folks on benefits have to re-certify, and so getting bank information, things of that nature.
John Hamilton:
Right. I really do think about it kind of like the 20th century's electricity, trying to make sure everybody had electricity to do the basic stuff you needed in your house. 21st century, it's really access to the internet and the web and good access that you can affordably do. So no cost means you can save the precious dollars for other things you need.
Leon Gordon:
Yeah. You don't have to decide between paying my light bill or getting food on the table. Internet is a way to stay connected so that you can apply for resources. I'll tell you one of the big things in this past few years was the emergency rental assistance.
John Hamilton:
During the pandemic.
Leon Gordon:
Had to go through the portal.
John Hamilton:
Yeah.
Leon Gordon:
And not only that, you had to follow up through the portal.
John Hamilton:
Critical.
Leon Gordon:
We helped so many people maintain internet access through our facilities because they didn't have it in their home.
John Hamilton:
Yeah. Yeah.
Leon Gordon:
And so the more we can do to educate folks to get on board with the connectivity program, the more stable they're going to be.
John Hamilton:
Well, I really appreciate it, I just think about education and healthcare access and job applications, and as you said, just connecting in so many ways. And entertainment too. Being able to enjoy life like most of us do. It's so important. I'm really proud that we're able to do this. And Leon, the examples you've given of how many thousands of households in our city will get no cost, great internet to help them live the lives that we want to live.
Leon Gordon:
On a fiber network.
John Hamilton:
On a fiber network. So thanks for being here, Leon. Thank you all. There's more information if you want on the city website. And again, Mayor John Hamilton signing out. And Leon, thank you for being with us.
Leon Gordon:
Thank you.