Mobile Hot Spot Lending Programs Help With Digital Equity
As libraries, schools and nonprofits step up efforts to loan mobile wireless hot spots to those without residential broadband, demand is rising. Long-term, sustainable funding remains a challenge, said those interviewed last week. Anchor institutions offer free hot spot devices and accompanying wireless broadband access for checkouts that can range from a week or two up to a typical school year.
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In Maryland, the St. Mary's County Library loans out 20 mobile hot spots for two weeks, 10 on the Verizon wireless network and 10 on Sprint's, said Sara Stephenson, virtual services coordinator. "Usually, all 20 are checked out, with holds." The library includes links to mobile coverage maps on the hot spot program webpage so patrons can select a plan.
The Queens Public Library got 2,500 mobile hot spots several years ago as part of a Knight Foundation grant to libraries in Brooklyn, Queens and New York City, said William Goldband, library vice president-IT. Initial reaction was "very favorable," Goldband said. "We probably could have given out twice as many." The foundation provided funding for three years, and in year four, the city Education Department provided funding for the monthly wireless access, he said. The Queens Public Library system hasn't bought new devices since then, and is left with 450 after others were lost or broken. Queens lends the hot spots from September to June to households with schoolchildren. It targets certain branches to match demographics with less access to broadband.
"We're all for more funding," Goldband said. Some money comes from its own foundation, but the hot spot program is expensive. It got support from a local hospital that wanted patients to access broadband.
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., introduced a bill this past Monday that would designate $100 million in grants to schools, libraries, territories and tribal governments for mobile hot spots through 2025 (see 1911250060).
It's a step in the right direction, but more money is needed, including for programs that aren't limited to schoolchildren and their families, said John Windhausen, executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition. He favors using the USF, at state and federal levels, to support mobile hot spot lending.
Libraries with such plans said there are never enough devices to meet demand, and most would expand their reach if they had more dollars.
"We're helping to fund a social services gap," said Kate Sellers, technical services manager of the Seattle Public Library system. It adds more devices as often as they are funded, she said. "The demand is huge," she said, with 1,700 people now on a wait list, and 675 devices. They have three-week checkouts and are open to all. The library system lends an additional 250 hot spots through partnering with nonprofits such as Goodwill and the Seattle Housing Authority. The library uses competitive bidding to choose its telecom provider.
The wireless service cost per device varies by provider and region, and by ability of the nonprofit or library to negotiate, said Angela Siefer, executive director of the Digital Inclusion Alliance. Providers, if they wanted, could lower the cost for such programs, she said. "That would be very much appreciated."
CTIA didn't comment Friday.
Nonprofit Mobile Beacon, which helps provide technology and wireless service to participating libraries and schools, uses spectrum from Sprint exclusively, said Katherine Messier, managing director. Mobile Beacon advocated for a commitment from T-Mobile to continue after it buys Sprint but hasn't received any engagement, she added. T-Mobile didn't comment Friday. The Mobile Beacon plan costs $10 monthly per device for broadband, with unlimited, uncapped and unthrottled access, Messier said. Otherwise, a hot spot device could run out of data the first time it's checked out and not be available for a new checkout until the next billing cycle, she said.
"The need and desire to connect is great," said Larra Clark, deputy director of the Public Library Association within the American Library Association. "It's the knowledge of missing out. It's rare that people don't understand the value of connectivity."