New York library to offer Internet through fixed wireless and fiber

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is looking to offer Internet services to low-income New Yorkers through a cutting-edge mix of fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber. Garfield Swaby, VP of IT for NYPL, sees the organization as potentially offering a layer of telecommunications services alongside the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides subsidies to low-income Americans to help them pay for telecommunications services. The COVID-19 pandemic, and its resulting shutdowns across New York City, sparked the project. Library officials noticed residents at some of the library system's 92 locations sitting outside the buildings in order to log into the library's Wi-Fi networks. In response, library officials in New York and elsewhere started looking for ways to broadcast their buildings' Internet connections into nearby neighborhoods. Phase one of the trial tested radio equipment from Motorola, Celona and Baicells on top of five different NYPL library locations, and customer premises equipment (CPE) from Ericsson's Cradlepoint and Inseego. The library system's main learning was that CPE receivers for FWA systems are expensive, and in some cases library patrons did not return the gadgets. As a result, NYPL is now pursuing a slightly different strategy for phase two.