Pittsburgh nonprofit to expand free internet in New Kensington, Wilkinsburg via foundation grants
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A Pittsburgh nonprofit has received more than $1.4 million from foundations as it plans to expand its free internet access to communities in need across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Meta Mesh Wireless Communities announced it received $1.13 million from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation for its wireless internet service, Every1online. Meta Mesh also received a $250,000 contribution from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and $51,125 from the Hopper-Dean Foundation.
Meta Mesh provides wireless internet access to institutional sponsors, such as school districts and government and nonprofit agencies, that provide services through the internet. Sponsors work with Meta Mesh to identify households within their service areas to receive internet service free of charge through Every1online.
Meta Mesh said it is starting the new year by expanding its pilot programs in New Kensington and Wilkinsburg. Over the next year, it plans to expand the Every1online network to at least 11 new communities in and around Allegheny County.
“We’re currently evaluating many communities within Allegheny and Westmoreland County to be potential expansion sites,” Meta Mesh Executive Director Samantha Garfinkel said. “The main factors in our consideration of each location are the documented need for reliable, in-home internet connectivity as well as proximity to our current infrastructure.”
So far, Every1online has connected more than 100 people in Homewood and Coraopolis to free, in-home Wi-Fi and public access points.
The service has not been available in New Kensington yet because of delays in infrastructure installation caused by supply-chain issues and the lack of available skilled workers, Garfinkel said.
“We will be completing this portion of the project in the second week of February, and in the meantime we are contacting those who signed up previously to inform them of upcoming available home installation dates,” she said.
Garfinkel said there is room for more New Kensington residents to sign up to learn whether the project’s signal will reach their homes. Those interested can fill out a form online at metamesh.org/every1online/form or call 412-223-4253.
In a few weeks, Garfinkel said, the project will reach its most challenging milestone when it locates its internet infrastructure on a tower near New Kensington.
“This infrastructure will be used to disperse our wireless signal across the City of New Kensington,” she said. “We faced some delays in our efforts in Westmoreland County during 2021 that were related to the pandemic, but we’re very excited to be so close to delivering our sponsored internet services to the residents of New Kensington-Arnold.”
A representative of the Henry L. Hillman Foundation could not be reached for comment Monday about its award to Meta Mesh.
Garfinkel said the foundation’s award will go toward the next three years of the organization’s expansion, including signing on more sponsoring clients that will contribute to the sustainability of the service so Meta Mesh can continue to offer internet service at no cost to the end user.
“As a social enterprise venture, Meta Mesh is working toward a self-sustaining status,” she said. “Most nonprofits are sustained largely by contributed sources, such as donations and grants, and might generate a fraction of their revenue from their programs and services.
“As an internet service provider, we need to ensure that our operations aren’t solely reliant on grants and donors so that there are no disruptions in our service provision.”