Los Angeles gets $7.5M for public computer centers
The Los Angeles Computer Access Network has received a $7.5 million Recovery Act grant from the Commerce Department to upgrade and expand 188 computer centers that provide the public with free broadband access. The money will be used to double the number of workstations available throughout the city at public computer centers in libraries, workforce centers, and youth and family centers in low-income and non-English speaking communities. The majority of the 188 proposed centers would be located in or within three miles of federal and state designated “Enterprise Zones.”
The project proposes to:
- Expand and upgrade free public computer centers at 73 public library locations, 43 WorkSource and OneSource job centers, and 72 recreation centers, senior centers and child care centers – connecting 35 youth and senior centers to broadband Internet service for the first time.
- Expand broadband Internet access to vulnerable populations: 128 of the proposed centers are located in or near areas where 50 percent of the households are non-English speaking.
- Expand broadband Internet access to low-income communities: 158 of the proposed centers are located in areas where 50 percent of the households are at low or moderate income levels.
- Provide city residents with access to job and computer training and online search engines, including the library’s recently developed Job Hunting Guide.
Public libraries across the US have reported large increases in the number of people using the libraries’ computers. As more people lose their jobs and cut back on their expenses, many cannot afford cable and DSL subscriptions. A lot of people are also living temporarily in shelters, motels, and camp sites so they need access to library computers to search for jobs. The most important thing is to get people working again as soon as possible so they do not fall into the limbo of the long-term unemployed where they lose motivation and never recover their previous standard of living.
Last month, Vice President Biden announced award of the first grants and loans funded by the Recovery Act to expand access to and adoption of broadband service in America – an initial investment of $183 million in 18 high-speed Internet projects benefiting 17 states. Today’s grant is part of the same Recovery Act effort, which will eventually invest a total of $7.2 billion. Of that funding, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will utilize $4.7 billion for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the United States, expand public computer center capacity, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service will use $2.5 billion in budget authority to support grants and loans to facilitate broadband deployment in primarily rural communities.
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