Thousands of Silicon Valley Residents Can’t Get Online. San Jose Has a Plan to Fix That

Though San Jose, California, sits directly in the heart of Silicon Valley, many of the city’s residents don’t have access to the internet. In one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S., more than 100,000 people — including 50% of residents with incomes under $35,000 — are unable to get online. 
Finding a solution to that stark disparity was what San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and his chief innovation officer, Shireen Santosam, had in mind when they hired Dolan Beckel, an executive fellow with the nonprofit FUSE, in 2016. Now, as the director of the Office of Civic Innovation and Digital Strategy, Beckel is working to create a sustainable model that expands connectivity and digital services across San Jose. 
As internet access increasingly becomes a universal need, Beckel hopes to see cities shift to models like that in Finland — reportedly the first country in the world to declare broadband access a legal right for every citizen. “I want to live in a world where the internet is considered a utility just like water and electricity,” Beckel said. “In 2019, it’s just as important for our well-being.”
Over the last three years, Beckel and his team have worked with the mayor’s office to understand the systemic changes necessary for tackling such a complex issue. Here are four lessons they’ve learned.

1. THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR

Beckel and the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation knew that in order to create sustainable programs for addressing the digital divide the city needed money. So Beckel did what any smart Silicon Valley entrepreneur would — he identified a need and crafted a deal to fill it. To implement 5G, which provides faster and better digital connectivity, telecommunications companies have been installing compact antennas called “small cells.” But to work, small cells must be situated at high levels with access to electrical power, and the more cells there are, the more consistent the service they provide. The solution? City light poles, the ideal spot to hold small cells. San Jose’s existing workhorse utilities instantly became the most valuable asset the city had to offer telecom companies.
Beckel’s team took the idea to local telecoms and negotiated an agreement to generate income from the city’s existing infrastructure, offering to lease the light poles at a market-based rate in return for guaranteed fast and consistent service. To speed up the process, San Jose used the fees to put in place a team dedicated to installation.
 The remainder of the expected income, estimated at $24 million over the next 10 years, will go into what San Jose calls its Digital Inclusion Fund. Created by Mayor Liccardo, the fund will be used to bring connectivity, devices and digital literacy to 50,000 underserved households, effectively closing the digital divide for these residents. Deputy City Manager Kip Harkness believes the efficiency of the process will potentially save the telecoms millions. “Rather than these companies having to go through thousands of negotiations on each small cell they installed, our offer allowed them to negotiate all at once,” he said. 
These deals have also led to what the city says is the largest small-cell implementation in the country. In 2017, before the project had taken off, San Jose had only managed to create permits for five small cells across the city. These days, Harkness said the city permits around 30 small cells a week.

2. COMMIT EVERY PENNY TO THE STATED GOALS

While most cities place revenue from private deals into a general fund, every penny of the estimated $24 million from the telecom agreements will go into the Digital Inclusion Fund to support citywide programming that addresses the digital divide. San Jose claims it’s the first city in the country to specifically restrict revenue for these purposes.
 “In other cities, that revenue goes into a general citywide fund and then kind of disappears,” Beckel said. “Residents hope that city leaders do good things with it, but there’s no data-driven plan with accountability of ensuring those funds go toward a specific initiative. The Digital Inclusion Fund radically transformed that.”

3. LISTEN TO — AND WORK WITH — THE COMMUNITY

After approving the fund, the city began to consider how it might spend the monies. But when Beckel’s team surveyed residents about their opinions on citywide digital-inclusion initiatives, many expressed concerns about government involvement. 
With a large immigrant population — almost 40% of San Jose’s residents were born in other countries — people reported feeling afraid that the government would look into their immigration status. Others expressed what Beckel referred to as a “Big Brother” fear that anything related to technology and the government would lead to increased surveillance and an overall loss in privacy.
Listening to their concerns, the city decided to take a different approach to offering new services. Rather than providing those services itself, San Jose is partnering with nonprofits and other organizations that already have a track record of community trust, giving them funds but letting them determine community needs and handle operations. This February, for example, the San Jose City Council approved a partnership with California Emerging Technology Fund, a statewide nonprofit with a singular mission of closing the digital divide. Some of the initiatives that CETF is developing include expanding library programs that allow people to borrow digital devices such as iPads; increasing the number of free community courses on how to use various technologies; offering more Wi-Fi hotspots near public schools that lack connectivity; and adding after-school coding classes. Programs are slated to begin this fall.
“I think the city was good at acknowledging what we didn’t know and admitting that it wasn’t our core competency to run a social justice program,” Beckel said. “And we realized that from a trust perspective, it’s sometimes better for the city to fund the programs but not be the face of them.”

4. GET READY FOR A LONG HAUL

Though Beckel’s team has made crucial steps toward improving digital inclusion, Beckel worries that future federal and state legislation will constrain the city’s initiatives. Just this May, the Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling that threatens city authority over 5G infrastructure deployment. Mayor Liccardo has partnered with other civic leaders to endorse federal legislation that would overturn it.
“I think there is an overreach of the FCC, which is focusing on the needs of the private sector instead of the needs of the public,” Beckel said. As legislation keeps changing, it’s unclear whether the city’s Digital Inclusion Fund and the steady stream of funding it created will survive.
But when Beckel began this work, he knew that it would require a long-term commitment. “Digital inclusion cannot be achieved with just one program that we implement in a year and then be done,” he said. “We knew that this was going to require more systemic change.”

This story was produced by FUSE Corps, a national executive fellowship program that partners with local government agencies and produces solutions-driven journalism.
 

Soon You Can ‘Check Out’ the Internet Along with Your Library Book

New York and Chicago public library systems are getting a digital upgrade. Armed with nearly $1 million in grant funding, the two once-considered antiquated institutions are ramping up services by loaning out Internet to locals much like a library book.
The Knight Foundation awarded both the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Chicago Public Library as a part of the annual News Challenge, which invites innovators to create solutions that enhances free expression on the Internet. The Chicago Public Library (CPL) received $400,000 for its “Internet to Go” pilot and the New York Public Library received $500,000 for the “Check Out the Internet” project. The two were among 19 winners this year that received a total of $3.4 million in grants.
New York’s well-worn library serves about 40 million walk-in visitors each year, according to New York Public Library President Tony Marx, and an estimated 27 percent of households are without access to Internet. To help patrons who rely on the physical library for access to computers, library officials decided to tap into a digital resource to extend services beyond business hours.
“People are sitting on our stoop to get leaked broadband,” Marx said. “And that’s when a light went off for us that said ‘No, we’ve got to do better than this.’”
NYPL will let patrons “check out” WiFi hotspots for up to one year at a time and is partnering with local initiatives to distribute the equipment including tech training classes, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses and other educational programs.
Last month NYPL launched a smaller scale pilot, dispersing 100 devices in four library branches, and officials are already amassing data on how patrons are interacting with the device and where and when they’re using it. The data will enrich the launch of the larger project in September, when NYPL plans to roll out loans to 10,000 homes across the city. While the larger launch comes with a $1 million price tag, Marx said NYPL is already discussing an additional $1.5 million with a potential investor to complete the project.
The information will also be useful for the State Library systems of Kansas and Maine, which NYPL is working with to determine how to implement a similar model in more rural areas.
But the library is not the only government institution hoping to help others plug in. Last month the New York’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) announced a plan to replace 7,300 pay phones with updated equipment including free WiFi hotspots as well as phone use. The city will award a bid to carry out the project by the year’s end, according to Government Technology.
In Chicago, library officials are targeting six neighborhoods with low Internet adoption rates (50 percent or less). CPL is also renting out laptops and tablets along with mobile hotspots, all of which can be on loan for up to three weeks at a time. Patrons can also use the library’s digital and information literacy services, which will be made available with the equipment.
The library has long been considered a community pillar, connecting and empowering people with knowledge. Rather than falling into the shadows of the digital revolution, more cities should take note of how these two major library systems are not only embracing the technology, but finding solutions to bridge the digital divide.
MORE: The Innovative Service Bringing the Digital Revolution to Libraries

9 Surprising Infrastructure Innovations Happening Right Here in America

Try to imagine “activity” in the context of American infrastructure. You’ll probably see images of freight trains derailing and bridges crumpling into rivers. But world-class innovation is happening here in America. Here’s how:
1. The 10-Day Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge took 14 years to build. Advanced Infrastructure Technologies (AIT), an engineering firm based in Maine, has designed a bridge that can be built in 10 days. Granted, AIT doesn’t expect its constructions to inspire awe in poets as did the original East River-crosser. But the bridge’s cost-effective, lightweight design is an especially important achievement in America, where austere budgeting is one of the main things holding infrastructure back. AIT’s lightweight bridges aren’t flimsy, either: simulations have shown the bridges can withstand about 50 years of heavy truck traffic.
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2. The Parking-Space Finder
San Francisco’s SFpark pilot project is app-ifying parking, making the frustrating chore instantly doable with your phone. The centralized parking guidance system uses “dynamic real-time message signs and web information” to tell drivers where open spots are, Parking.org reports. And as you stop endlessly circling in search of a space, you’ve also reducing congestion. It’s federally funded and self-improving: the app integrates live user feedback into its automation.
3. Port Reform in Florida
Ports: they’re just about as unsexy as parking lots, but they can be a thousand times more important, economically speaking. The Port of Miami, for example, accounts for 5% of all U.S. imports (a huge number for one city). And Florida’s other 14 ports are becoming more important as the U.S. increases its trade with Latin America. That’s why Florida has created the new Office of Freight Logistics and Passenger Operations (FLP), a statewide command center for all 15 sites. Incoming shipments will be assigned according to the interests of each port, meaning import decisions will reflect local supply and demand relative to that of other cities—advancing the interests of the state as a whole.
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4. Free, Superfast Internet
We love the fact that Google Fiber’s free Internet first touched down in Kansas City, Mo., and Provo, Utah. (It’d be kind of boring if they launched in the Bay Area.) Google now offers select residents of these cities (not small businesses yet) Internet and TV packages starting at $0 a month. For $70/month, you can get 1 gigabit Internet, whose blinding speed you can witness in this “race” simulation. For $50 more per month, they’ll throw in a TV feed that supports DVRs and HD and lets you use your tablet as a remote. Instead of building its own obtrusive poles to make all this happen, Google worked with local governments to make use of existing electrical infrastructure and expanded where necessary. Next stop: Austin, Texas.
5. West Coast Infrastructure Exchange
One of the biggest impediments to better American infrastructure is lack of funding. Another is noncooperation among state and federal governments. West Coast states, defying this trend, have partnered up with one another and invited Canada, too. California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia have formed the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange (WCX), coordinating funds and expertise for infra- and inter-state projects. The hope is that this will cut down on the number of earmarks these states seek—since it creates public and private alternatives to the federal coffers—and it’s a step forward in infrastructural cooperation with Canada, which is a nice change from the scuffles surrounding the Peace Bridge. By 2040, the WCX aims to coordinate infrastructure projects totaling $1 trillion in value.
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6. 760 MPH Speed Limits
You probably know Elon Musk from PayPal, or Tesla, or SolarCity. Now let’s talk about Hyperloop, the super-fast, air hockey-like transport line Musk wants to build in California. In SpaceX’s rosy blueprints, the line will cost roughly $6 billion to build and will get you from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. Whereas California’s proposed high-speed rail would max out at just above 200 miles per hour, the Hyperloop is designed to zip travelers along at 760 mph. Independent analysts have taken all kinds of issue with SpaceX’s ambition. Even if the company never lays the keel, Musk has set the new standard in American commuting.
7. Minneapolis Bike Trails
Minneapolis is notorious for its unforgiving temperatures and snowfall, yet it’s consistently ranked among the top five U.S. cities for biking. This is in part because of its robust biking culture, from benign local biker gangs to “America’s first bike freeway.” The government has also been a big help. Since 2010, Minneapolis’s municipal Nice Ride bike-sharing program has facilitated 700,000 rides. Urban planners have contributed, too: Whenever roads are repaved or buildings introduced, the impact on bike lanes is always a concern. The City of Minneapolis claims to have 177 miles of on- and off-street bikeways. New York and Houston, among others in bike-friendlier climes, are trying to catch up.
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8. NYC: Where It’s Easier to Find Free WiFi Than Parking
The coolest idea for WiFi in New York City we’ve heard is to turn the old, now-neglected pay-phones throughout the city into public wireless routers. That act of infrastructural recycling may not be happening, but free public WiFi is. In October 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the imminent WiFying of 10 New York neighborhoods across the five boroughs. Behind five of the projects is GOWEX, a company that’s already created 2,000 “Smart Zones” throughout the city. Public WiFi will assist local entrepreneurs and keep New York an attractive location for young professionals. Whereas Google Fiber offers its subscription packages only to private residents, WiredNYC’s networks are accessible to sidewalk iPhone-holders and Bloomberg Terminal users alike.
9. A Sprawled Little Suburb Gets a Massive, Urban Makeover
Tysons Corner, Va., a Washington suburb where residents always drive and never walk, is making itself navigable by foot. For most of its sprawled existence, it’s been a loose-knit office and retail city of about 17,000 people. That is, until its city planners transformed Tysons Corner into a green city with “revived neighborhoods, sidewalk culture, local employment and local arts,” according to analysis by KPMG International. The extension of this former suburb has been reversed by well-placed public transportation and smarter land use. The makeover will help the city host up to 100,000 residents by 2050, city officials say. It was and is one of the most ambitious and successful city redesigns in recent history.
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