Long Beach could see faster and stronger internet coverage in the coming months, especially in neighborhoods where access is lacking.

Crown Castle, the Irvine-based wireless infrastructure provider that installed 19 small cell antennas along Shoreline Drive for a city pilot program, plans to put in 11 more antennas downtown and 52 more in the northwest part of the city, said Mark Guillen, a representative for Crown Castle.

“We’ve demonstrated to them that this technology will be able to benefit the city,” Guillen said, adding that the first series of small antenna deployments is expected to happen within the next six months.

It’s a major component of Long Beach’s strategy to expand its network from about 62 miles of city-owned optic fiber—used to connect city building and manages traffic signals at major intersections—to 110 miles.

For the pilot program, city officials agreed to lease public city space to Crown Castle, which attached 19 small cell “nodes” to street poles and other infrastructure around Shoreline Drive. In return, Crown Castle agreed to make its nodes available to any cellular provider to share in its “fiber-fed network” and gives the city some fiber strands to help build out its network.

“Crown Castle is the bridge to figure out what the specifications should be,” John Keisler, the city’s economic and property development director, said last summer.

It may help bridge the digital divide in Long Beach, where nearly 16 percent of households lack an Internet subscription, with 9.5 percent connecting to the internet only with a smartphone and 15.8 percent of homes with no internet access at all, according to the 2016 Census Bureau American Community Survey.

“We’ll be able to leverage the new Crown Castle network in partnership with the city, reinvest in fiber or Internet access and ultimately expand the network to get into other neighborhoods,” Keisler said.

The nodes were installed before the most recent Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the city’s biggest event of the year, to test their capabilities, and feedback was positive, Guillen said.

Meanwhile, the City Council this week OK’d an ordinance that would streamline and standardize the process for reviewing and approving applications for small cells. The law, which is expected to go into effect as early as June, paves the way for companies such as Crown Castle to put in these nodes.

Internet accessibility is key for attracting businesses to Long Beach, said Steve Goodling, president and CEO at Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“The need for broader band and stronger coverage is becoming more and more critical due to the various apps and technology platforms,” Goodling said, adding that the convention center has been hosting events such as TwitchCon, a convention for the live streaming video platform Twitch.

“They do require fast speeds and the ability to handle a lot of digital information and when we have clients that look at the city of Long Beach, it’s really important that the entire experience inside and outside of the convention center be holistic.”

Residents may also benefit from the expanded connection, said Public Works Director Craig Beck

“The increased demand for small cell sites has given us the opportunity to partner with wireless providers to find innovative ways to expand internet capacity in Long Beach,” Beck said. “By increasing the number of small cell sites in our city, we allow for more opportunities to develop wireless hotspots in shared spaces such as parks, community centers, and bus stops, enabling all Long Beach residents access to the internet.”