Pitt, CMU partner with nonprofits, school districts to provide free internet access to city households

The University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning will soon beam out more than just the victory lights. Through a new pilot program that combines the efforts of eight universities, research groups, nonprofit organizations and school districts, the Cathedral of Learning will act as a “super node” or hub that transmits Wi-Fi to households around the city. The program, called Every1online, will provide free internet access to households in Homewood, Coraopolis and New Kensington (PA) to bridge the digital divide, a gap in resources that has only widened as many students must learn from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The current build-out plan can support approximately 450 household connections, 150 per pilot location, according to Sam Garfinkel, development coordinator for nonprofit Meta Mesh Wireless Communities.

Using high-powered radios on top of the Cathedral of Learning, Meta Mesh will transmit signals to “repeater towers” in each of the three neighborhoods. Participants’ homes will have a coffee mug-sized receiver installed outside, pointed to the repeater tower. Inside, the receiver connects to a Wi-Fi router.