Aurora wants to fund bringing increased internet service to 11 learning centers for low-income people in the city.
City Council members will vote Tuesday on providing $100,000 to OnLight Aurora, the city’s not-for-profit fiber optic system, to provide the internet access as part of the No Child Left Offline program launched in January.
No Child Left Offline is an initiative that identified community organizations that provide remote education spaces for low-income children and residents, but were also in need of technology upgrades.
City and OnLight officials worked with each organization to identify existing connectivity issues and prioritize the best solution.
The centers are: Hesed House; Simply Destinee; APS Training Institute; Warren F. Cannon Community Outreach Center; Main Baptist Church; Simard Hall at Sacred Heart Catholic Church; Grand Boulevard Community Center; Randall West Community Center; the Aurora Public Library; Indian Trail Apartments; and LaQuinta Kids Internet Cafe.
Officials spent three months installing upgrades. Older networks, modems and hotspots were replaced with high-capacity networks and increased access points, according to city officials.
With the improvements, locations were made much more capable of providing remote learning spaces for kids, city officials said. The locations will benefit from a sustainable, long-term solution to internet connectivity and bandwidth for years to come, they said.
The plan is to spend $100,000 for each of the next five years to pay for the connectivity. Because aldermen placed the expenditure on the consent agenda, it is likely to pass Tuesday.
