the wireless environment.”
One of the pilot programs attached to the initiative includes providing an access point and computer training at one of four Hope VI public housing sites in Philadelphia. An interconnecting series of wireless transmitters mounted on lamp posts will allow for an access point to spread throughout a mesh environment, essentially ensuring that the digital divide across various socioeconomic neighborhoods in Philadelphia continues to shrink. Neff wholeheartedly believes that building the city’s wireless infrastructure will be no different than building a road. “The road helps you get to your destination. If you never have the infrastructure, you [will] never get to the point [where] residents can participate in the knowledge economy,” she says. “This is important to the future, to attract high-tech [companies] and startups that are interested in communities that are committed to wireless communication. I personally believe that this is transformational technology.”