Meta Mesh Wireless COmmunities is advancing digital equity in western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Meta Mesh Wireless Communities, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit ISP, promotes regional efforts to bring affordable Internet access to underserved communities during Digital Inclusion Week, taking place Oct. 3-7.
Digital inclusion efforts address three main areas: affordable internet, access to appropriate devices, and digital skills training. These three are digital basics that millions of Americans are living without.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide $48 billion in funding for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and Digital Equity Act. Digital inclusion leaders across the country are calling on their state leaders to prioritize state digital equity plans and budgets to bridge the digital divide.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity fueling excitement during the week-long event for digital inclusion organizations nationwide, calling this “the moment for digital equity.”
“As we see federal law turn into actual funding for digital inclusion, it’s our time to start ‘Turning Our Moment into Movement,’ which is our theme for Digital Inclusion Week 2022,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. “We invite advocates, policymakers, community leaders, educators, researchers, and others to come together this week - and all year long - to advance digital equity nationwide.”
“Together with our regional and community partners, Meta Mesh Wireless Communities is proud to undertake the labor of connecting households that have for too long been overlooked and unconnected to the benefits and utility of equitable broadband Internet,“ says Colby Hollabaugh, executive director of Meta Mesh Wireless Communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “We will continue building reliable, affordable networks that bridge this unnecessary divide between those who are connected and those who have been left behind.”
This year marks the sixth annual Digital Inclusion Week.
About Meta Mesh Wireless Communities: MMWC is a 501c3 nonprofit working to bridge the digital divide in western Pennsylvania. We provide reliable wireless and fiber broadband solutions to disenfranchised communities that do not have equitable high-speed Internet connectivity. For more information, visit metamesh.org.
About National Digital Inclusion Alliance: NDIA advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act. Working collaboratively with more than 850 digital inclusion practitioners, NDIA advocates for broadband access, tech devices, digital skills training, and tech support. For more information, visit digitalinclusion.org.