San Jose makes 11,000 WiFi hotspots available for students: Report

San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo on August 3 has reportedly announced a deal with American telecom company AT&T  to make 11,000 4G hotspots available to keep students and families connected as schools are set to begin online after this fall. According to the reports, Santa Clara County situated in the heart of silicon valley will continue with virtual classes as COVID-19 cases surge in California. The students without broadband access will not be able to keep in touch with online classes. Liccardo tweeted, "Coming soon: @CityofSanJose +@ATTPolicyCA are partnering to bring 11k hotspots to residents in need—connecting students & families to internet access for distance learning + critical online services. Stay tuned!"

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Digital Inclusion Expenditure Plan

As part of the COVID-19 Digital Inclusion Expenditure Plan,  an $8.2 million fund was approved by the city council as it is working with AT&T to install hotspots. San Jose is contributing $3.4 million to the plan, and AT&T is contributing $6 million of in-kind services to provide the hotspots, as per reports. There will be 8000 hotspots available to the public school students to keep them in touch with their schools and curriculums, and an additional 3,000 hotspots will be available to the public to check out at local libraries. 

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According to the international media reports, San Jose identified that around 11000 students lack home internet services with an estimated total need of 15,000 hotspots and 50,000 computing devices. In addition, local officials acknowledged there are more unconnected families that they have not been able to identify.

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Image: Sam Liccardo/Twitter