Genevieve Barbee Brochure Art for Meta Mesh

Meta Mesh was launched in 2012 with the mission of building a Community Wireless Network, named PittMesh, using mesh networking technology. The technology works to expand public WiFi options in a sustainable, low investment, and inexpensive way. WiFi donors share their unused Internet bandwidth and then this signal is broadcast into the neighborhood, adding to the PittMesh Community Wireless Network. The more donors there are, the stronger the public WiFi can be, and the more PittMesh network coverage there is. Through this community-centered approach, public WiFi can be expanded and supported without largescale expenses and reoccurring fees.

The goal of Meta Mesh is to “bridge the Digital Divide in meaningful and permanent way.” Much of the low-income population in Pittsburgh, both young and old, do not have Internet access at home and rely on public WiFi in libraries and schools to connect with job applications, government programs, educational resources, and news. With an increasing number of federal, state, and healthcare-related resources online, internet access is integral for our day-to-day lives as well as our futures. By expanding the strength and coverage of public WiFi areas, Meta Mesh is working to provide everyone with the online resources and digital access they need to succeed in the Digital age. They hope to build the largest community-owned public WiFi network as well as provide the open-source resources and education to “make a better mesh” and allow others to “build a network like PittMesh.”

Identifying A Need: Digital Access

In September 2016, The City of Pittsburgh, Sprout Fund, and Remake Learning came together to create Rec2Tech Pittsburgh, a one-week transformation of five recreation centers into digital hubs and technology-enhanced STEAM learning centers for youth. The week was a success but it was clear that WiFi coverage was a critical barrier for digital inclusion. The WiFi for each recreation center had only one access point, confining the wireless network radius to about 150 feet. Therefore, less than about 30% of each center had wireless network coverage. In order to truly transform the centers into digital hubs for everyone, something more would have to be done.

Case Study: Magee Recreation Center in Greenfield

On October 19th 2017, Meta Mesh installed their system at the Magee Recreation Center and Senior Center in Greenfield. The process took 90 minutes without any physical changes to the building, just router and node installations. In the end, the existing WiFi network coverage in the center was increased by 60%. People were able to use the WiFi in areas, such as the gym and programming room, that the previous network was unable to reach. It has been 16 days since the installation and there have been no significant network outages. Overall, there has been a 29% increase in usage with 305+ log-ins since November 1st. The enhanced network at Magee serves an example of the effect PittMesh can have in a community. By installing PittMesh in all recreation centers, we can increase the number of public WiFi areas in Pittsburgh and help address every community’s digital needs. Increasing coverage across the center has enabled a coding education class to take place in the classroom opposed to the lunch room. Recreation staff can now use YouTube videos to complement after school curriculum in the gym and weight room streaming health applications and music to fuel student participation. An Innovation & Performance City staff member even worked remotely at the recreation center last week and was able to connect to a video conference with her team.

We cannot be a Smart City if our residents do not have access to the internet. We cannot transition all of our services to online platforms when we still have over 20% who are not connected. As we work to get people in home internet access we have a responsibility to create spaces for people to connect to a reliable service and our recreation centers, similar to the libraries are those crucial community hubs.