When Portland put out its request for proposals to build a citywide wireless network, many hoped that it would soon help low-income citizens get connected to the Internet. The network is now expanding rapidly throughout Portland, but a $148,000 proposal to connect low-income families was not included in Mayor Tom Potter's $37 million proposed surplus budget this week. It could be tough to raise private funds for the project...MetroFi Inc. won the right to build a wireless network in Portland last year at least partly because the company answered the "public benefit" requirement in Portland's request for proposals with free, advertising-supported access to the Internet. But free access doesn't help people who don't own a computer. And it can cost as much as $150 to buy the equipment that brings the wireless Internet signal indoors.
Source: Portland Business Journal
Note: It's one thing (an important one) to provide access to both the Internet and computers but as others have pointed out, the ability to find and judge the data/information (search skills, currency of info, authority of info, understanding what is and is not a sponsored link etc.), and other important concepts is another matter altogether. So, in essence, do we have two digital divides?
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